The Lionheart
by ThePhantomsFlutist
Summary: The Avengers failed in keeping Loki and his forces at bay in New York and now Loki has divided and conquered the world as it all-too-quickly kneels. In the chaos of war, Loki finds Jane and keeps her as his hostage after saving her from nearly dying. Can Jane unlock his heart that has turned to stone or will she be forced to watch the world burn? Lokane
1. Chapter 1

There was once a time in Jane's life when all that mattered to her was science. She wrote her papers, did her studies and applied for grants to study what she wished to. There was no alien God coming down from the skies trying to seduce; no insane alien brother trying to conquer her world, and certainly, there was not a murderous horde of aliens coming to the latter's assistance.

Regardless of the many years she sat upon her roof, looking through a telescope and wondering to herself what life was beyond her planet, she began to wish that she never found out. Perhaps she should have just gone into a simpler field like engineering or maybe just psychology. Perhaps if she chose a different path, she wouldn't be laying on the street, covered in her own blood, hoping someone would find her underneath this car. Of course, she hoped that someone is the right someone.

The battle that surrounded her was winding down to a finish. She knew because the screeches of both aliens and people were getting quieter. The rebels were heavily armed, but human weapons weren't much good against alien technology and Loki's magic. Much the same could be said of other uprisings throughout the United States. What were their guns to an immortal God?

She regretted existing at this point. The pain from her wounds, acquired when a bomb exploded near her, was almost numbing now. She initially managed to drag herself through the wreckage and hide underneath one of the dented cars that were along the street. She laid flat on the cement, looking up at the engine and the bottom of the car, hoping this was not the last sight she would see. She was losing far too much blood to survive. Her mind, usually calculating and unerringly rational, was slowly beginning to swim in confusion.

She couldn't keep track of time. Around her was a cacophony of sound: gun shots, metal against metal, explosions near and from a distance.

Then, silence. Deathly silence.

She wondered if she was the last one alive at this point. She didn't want to peak her head out and see corpses surrounding her. She didn't want to be one of them. She knew if she kept laying here she would just be another statistic, and soon it wouldn't even matter that SHIELD managed to hide her away for so many weeks. Soon she would just end up like everyone else – the losing, the lost, and the dead. There would be no point in the research she managed while she was locked away in the bunkers. There would no longer be any hope of winning the war, saving her race. She knew Tony Stark was still out there somewhere. She knew he hadn't been captured just yet. Yet, her equations and formulas were crucial to this war against Loki…

And Loki knew it, too. That's why she was here. That's why she was here, nearly dead. It was here fault all of these people were dead, and that SHIELD took loss after loss. Her vision swam as her heart pounded.

If Loki knew she was still alive…

That was when she heard it. A faint thudding that could have easily been her heartbeat, but the sound grew louder and closer. Footsteps. Heavy footsteps, like boots and metal hitting the ground repeatedly. Her head craned around to see look, but she was losing consciousness. She could barely make out the black boots that were in front of her eyes. She felt a rush of air, and dim light blurred her vision further. She realized the car hiding her was gone, lifted like it was cotton and pushed to the side. Then, the voice. That voice. That soothing, sickening voice that spoke from radios and television sets promising an end to everything, if only they would surrender. She grew to hate it, even if she hadn't seen him in person. She knew who it was. "I found you," it said.

She saw a swarming array of black, green, and gold as the tall being bent over and picked her up. Cool fingers touched her forehead, and then the world went black.

Five months ago the Battle of New York was lost. The World Council sent a nuclear bomb through the wormhole; the intention was to stop the war before it spread, to deter the armies without the terrible complications of boots on the ground. Earth never had a chance; Loki's forces were overwhelming.

The city itself was completely leveled, regardless. Buildings collapsed, thousands of people were killed or injured. Wormholes opened up shortly after in Atlanta, Denver and San Diego. The Avengers and SHIELD retreated, giving Loki a conditional surrender before more people died.

The following week was fought tooth and nail. The National Guard was exhausted, and Loki's forces spread like a deadly virus, pillaging coastal cities before going west and east to Europe. There were areas that surrendered before the terror reached their country; others fought until the choice was between starvation and surrender.

Jane watched her world end on a television from an underground bunker. Thor requested that she be kept safe as he knew Loki might come after her, both because of who she was, and because he had already taken in Erik Selvig. She nearly went mad, with the white walls, the same people, the same food every day. She should be grateful, she knew. This was better than being killed above ground.

The first bunker had a lab where she and Tony Stark conducted research with regards to Loki's magic and the detection of wormholes. If they could determine where they would appear, their forces could be more prepared. They were together barely a month before her research was filed away and she was moved elsewhere. She didn't know what happened to Tony. She assumed he went to look for Pepper.

She had no one. No parents, no family to find. She could set out for Darcy, but she could only safely assume she was fine. She ended up somewhere is in the plains, relatively free from Loki's notice. It was the coasts that were getting ransacked.

A good third of SHIELD's bases were either invaded, destroyed, or wiped out. It was never the same thing twice. It was chaotic, unpredictable. The only way they would ever know where Loki might be sending his forces would be if Jane and Tony finished their research, but it simply was not so.

He was winning, and he was winning fast.

A month of horror carried on, as Jane and several other Agents went from bunker to bunker. It felt like hey were playing hide and seek, and Loki was winning battle after battle. The Avengers spread to cities throughout the world, hoping to make a small dent in Loki's progress, but there was no good to be done.

Then came the plateau.

Surrenders were growing exponentially throughout Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Loki had a fourth of the world's countries under his sovereignty.

He made it apparent he was following her. Every city that they passed, Loki made an appearance as Jane ran. It was only a matter of time. It was reported that Jane and Tony's research had either gone missing or was destroyed. Jane gave up then. She fell deeper and deeper into despondency. There was only so much horror and death before she finally felt herself give up. It seemed that Loki knew she stopped caring, that he anticipated it and timed his strike appropriately. It was in Chicago that Loki found Jane, protected by the smallest possible gang of SHIELD agents.

She thought maybe she was dead, gone to whatever place people who didn't believe in religion went to. Wherever it was, it was quite cozy. Warm blankets were piled on top of her. The bed was almost like a memory foam mattress. When she opened her eyes she realized that she was not in the in-between, but rather Hell. Yes, it must exist. The walls were white and it could have been a prison cell but there was one wide window that overlooked a grove of trees and a road. It was like her dorm in college: plain and functional. There was a micro-fridge shoved into one of the corners and a door that lead to a bathroom. One corner held a low table, a desk and chair. It reminded her of the room she had the SHIELD bunker, before everything went to shit. It wasn't underground, which was a definite plus. Maybe they managed to relocate?

Perhaps it was all just a dream. Perhaps SHIELD found her after all and started to nurse her back to health. The wounds on her chest, head and leg were bandaged up. She remembered the explosion, the shrapnel flying into her. She frowned as she looked under one of the bandages wrapped around her leg. There was no blood. In fact, there was hardly any scar tissue. No stitches…

There was something very wrong with how she was healing. She couldn't have possibly been asleep so long that her body almost completely healed. She ached, as though she had just woken from a very long nap, but that was all.

She heard the door click open. Her eyes darted up in panic. Part of her wanted to act as though she were still asleep, so she didn't have to face whatever happened, but they walked in too fast. It was a nondescript man, wearing a black shirt with khakis and boots. He looked straight out of army boot camp. Stoically, he carried a bin of water and a cloth. There was something odd though about the way he walked. His eyes met hers; they were a brilliant blue – so light that they almost seemed unreal. It was like he put in fake contacts or something. He paused in his steps before turning around to go.

"Wait!" Her voice was hoarse, and it fell on deaf ears as the door shut behind the man. The lock clicked.

She rose out of the bed, her arms and legs feeling quite heavy. She was wearing a hospital gown of sorts, she noticed. Standard issue. Underneath, she wore only her panties and bra. She ran back to the door, trying to open it but failing.

She knocked on it.

"Hello? Why did you lock it?" She knocked several more times, continuing to try the handle before her energy gave out and she slid to the floor. This must be a nightmare. She wanted to wake up now. She cried out until her voice went hoarse.

If this was SHIELD, why would they lock her in? Why would this man not say anything? Why wouldn't they have a nurse taking care of her? Wouldn't she be hooked up to an IV? Nothing made sense. SHIELD was essentially destroyed. There was no functionality to it anymore, otherwise she wouldn't be here.

There seemed to be an inevitable doom no matter how she thought of her situation. She felt tears sting her eyes as panic rose in her throat. Perhaps she wasn't hallucinating before she woke up here.

She rose to her feet to go back to the bed but ended up stumbling towards the bathroom. The facts began to weigh down on her. She opened the door to the bathroom and emptied her stomach. She looked at her face in the mirror, white like paper with dark bags under each eye. She removed the bandage from her face, not a drop of blood on it. It looked as though nothing happened —no stitches, no puckered tissue from scarring, not even dirt or grime from lying under the car. Nothing. For the first time in a long time, she began to cry. What was going on? What the hell was happening to her? She must be dead. She has to be. This must be some fucked up version of purgatory.

She emptied her stomach once more, though there was nothing there. She realized how hungry she was. Her knees shook as she scrambled back into the bed to lie down. Her head spun. She shut her eyes, hoping that she would wake up from this nightmare.

The door clicked open again. A woman appeared this time. She looked blankly at her and Jane looked blankly back. She was finely dressed, though still very plain. A white button-up blouse was tucked into her black skirt. Her makeup unremarkable but her eyes were that same piercing blue color she recognized. The duffel bag in her hand, Jane recognized as her own. It was given to her by SHIELD.

"Miss Foster, I am instructed to tell you that the master would like for you to join him at dinner this evening. He hopes this will suffice for now. I shall return in twenty minutes to fetch you," she said. Her voice was unemotional, almost as though she were talking to Tony Stark's AI, but even JARVIS had more personality.

"I'm sorry," she asked, "who calls himself Master?"

"King Loki, of course." She spoke evenly, as though it must be obvious.

She felt the blood rush from her head. She knew that this was the work of Loki, but she didn't want to acknowledge found her. This must be the end.

Why is there such pretense in this? Surely he must need to kill her. He most likely has found her work, why would he need her anymore? She was why they were winning for so long. She was beating him at his own game for a good long while until he seemed to take the next step and be ahead of her.

"King?" Her voice cracked as she repeated it. She shook herself out of her reverie.

The woman nodded. "Yes, Miss Foster."

"And what if I don't want to have dinner with him?"

"He knew you might say that. He also said that if you do not wish to eat with him, then you can starve," she said. She sounded as if she were telling Jane the weather for all the inflection in her tone.

"No room service then, I guess," she scoffed. Her stomach growled angrily. She could probably last another few days without food or water, but she knew that if Loki were to kill her, it would certainly be faster than dying of dehydration or starving to death.

The woman showed no reaction but placed the duffel bag at the foot of her bed. "I shall return soon," she said and then quickly departed.

Jane shook slightly, her nerves catching up to her. If Loki planned to kill her, why was she still alive? She could have bled out under the car. He could have killed her so easily.

She sunk into a panic; her breathing was shallow and her palms began to sweat. She didn't realize how much time had passed, as she sat shivering in the hospital gown, until she heard the knock on the door.

"Miss Foster, are you dressed?"

"H-hold on!" She called back.

Alright, Jane, she thought to herself. Her mind teetered between panic and logic. If you get one more chance to die, it's not going to be shaking and bowing your head to a mass murderer. You're not going to lay belly-up in front of him. You're not going to give him this satisfaction. You can't. You're better than this.

With a shaking hand, she opened her duffel bag and pulled out the first t-shirt and jeans she found. She pulled on her worn-out tennis shoes, in case she needed to run, and quickly combed through her hair. She tried not to think about why Loki was so prepared and how he came by clothing and shoes in her exact size.

"I-I…" she began, but swallowed back the knot in her throat. "I'm ready," she said. The lady opened the door, allowing Jane to pass through.

She walked through the halls, also very white and nondescript. There were several other doors; she supposed they were also living quarters for whomever once inhabited this place.

They went into an elevator that lead them up a floor.

"Why are you helping him?" she asked, looking to the woman as she blankly stared at the closing door of the elevator. "Why would you betray your own race?" Jane asked. Again she received no answer, not even an acknowledgement that she was speaking to her. She must be some robot, Jane thought. A cyborg? But then again, it didn't seem to fit with what she knew of the Asgardians. Somehow they didn't seem to fit into The Terminator world.. Jane gave up trying to talk to her. She might as well talk to the wall.

The elevator stopped and the doors opened. She felt her knees shake, but she tried to remain indifferent. If Loki was the one who managed to heal her of whatever wounds she sustained, surely he wouldn't just kill her on the spot? Wouldn't that be work for nothing? Everything Loki did in trying to conquer her world was for a purpose. She must have some sort of purpose…

She couldn't seem to walk forward, knowing she must be close to meeting Loki face-to-face. He's just a man, she thought to herself. A powerful man, but nonetheless, still a man. Just like Thor. Thor…

The woman opened the door to reveal a dining room. It was relatively empty, save a long table piled with food in the center and a television mounted on one wall next to the SHIELD logo. Large windows covered half of the wall space, overlooking a lake. They seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, so why would Loki overrun this base in particular? And take residence here? Surely it wasn't the most convenient location.

She turned her attention back to the table. There was enough food to feed an army, though it only seemed to be feeding just her. A turkey, pasta, mashed potatoes… Her stomach gurgled at the sight of it. Surely Loki didn't intend on others joining them, so why all the food?

Speaking of the devil, she didn't notice him at first. At the far end of the table stood the tall man. He stood with his back to her, gazing through the windows. He was certainly Thor's height, if not taller, and lanky. His black raven hair was combed back, though it curled at the ends into seemingly unruly locks.

"Miss Foster," he spoke finally. His voice, a tenor, rebounded off of every smooth surface, and created the illusion that he was standing right next to her. He turned to face her, a thin-lipped grin spreading across his features. His collared tunic and dark pants made him look somewhat smaller than the pictures of him in full-on armor. His shoulders looked more narrow, his demeanor somehow less… demeaning.

"How good it is to see you face-to-face at last," he said. He walked closer to her. She felt herself move back as he stalked towards her. She continued to step back, until she realized this was not the impression she should give. Her mind kicked in. She stood her ground, unflinching even as he stood toe to toe with her.

His lips turned down slightly, when she didn't return his greeting.

"No words, Miss Foster?" he asked, tilting his head to the side. "How disappointing. I would expect some acknowledgement that you, in fact, would not be standing here were it not for me." He sounded almost proud. "Perhaps some thanks are in order."

She was silent, her eyes narrowed and lips pursed into a frown. "I refuse to thank someone who created the situation that nearly killed me in the first place." she said, her own confidence startling her.

"On the contrary, Miss Foster, you wouldn't have nearly died if your organization had just surrendered as I asked. But alas, it seems as they were willing to fight tooth and nail to protect you," he said. His hands dropped to his sides as he walked closer to her. His arm extended out, and his long fingers curled to rest under her chin. She never felt smaller than in his moment, as he looked down his nose at her. "It seems you are quite the treasured girl, aren't you, Miss Foster?"

She wanted to pull her chin away, but something seemed to lock it in place; t she had no choice but to look up at him. Her eyes slid away from his emerald gazeto the windows beyond his shoulder,, wishing she could fling herself through them.

"Look at me, Miss Foster," he beckoned. His voice was soft but severe. She continued to struggle, though it seemed like her body wasn't going to cooperate. What was he doing?

Magic, her mind supplied in answer. Thor had noted that his brother was an impeccable sorcerer. Which wasn't helpful. In any other case, she might have been fascinated. However, this was just downright terrifying.

Out of sheer stubbornness, she refused to look at , she would not give in to this man… this thing…

"I said, look at me!" His voice was thunderous. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw his free hand rise as if to slap her. Startled, her eyes snapped to his face, recoiling from the possible abuses.

A grin started to spread across his face once more. His hand lowered to his side. She imagined putting a bullet between his eyes just to stop that awful grin from growing. He was sick.

"This does not have to be difficult, Miss Foster," he said. His tone was calm again; when not colored with anger, it had a hypnotic, lazy quality to it. He brushed cool fingertips along her cheek. "If you comply, things will be quite comfortable for you. If not, I'm afraid, I will have no choice but to take away your freedom of choice. That is not something I wish for, nor will you. Are we quite clear, Miss Foster?"

"What do you mean, 'take away my freedom of choice?'" she asked. Her voice was shaking slightly; she felt as though she was about to be sick right here in front of him.

"You have met my servants, have you not?" he asked. "Miss Andersen, who led you here to me, provided your clothes – she opted for not having a choice. I do not wish to do so, you see. But often, I, myself, must decide what is best for them."

"She opted?" she asked. Her eyes narrowed as he dropped his hands back to his sides, allowing her to move once more. "Somehow I doubt that."

"She told me she'd rather die than choose to serve me. I am no murderer, Miss Foster. I did not wish to kill her. I simply suggested she not choose," he said, as though it were the simplest thing in the world.

"I doubt it was a suggestion," Jane scoffed.

"It was," he clarified, "and she complied, naturally. As humans do once granted the choice. They naturally find it easier to simply not choose."

Jane glared, finding his logic incomprehensible. She was flabbergasted. "You say you are not a murderer, though you walked though corpses to get to me," she said. "Thousands of people have died by your hand!"

"They died by their own cause," he spat.

"That's bullshit!"

Before she even realized it, he did slap her. She fell back onto the floor from of the sheer force, cradling her swollen cheek; tears prickled her eyes from the pain. She curled into herself, losing all composure.

"Watch your tongue, Miss Foster. I saved your life, but do not believe for one moment I cannot make you suffer," he snarled at her. "Now get up."

She stayed where she was, wishing to disappear into oblivion.

"Do not make me punish you again! Get up!" He barked. She got to her knees but could not find the strength to stand all the way up. She looked up and glared at him defiantly. Slowly, she rose to her feet. He looked pleased with himself. He seemed to shake off the anger in an instant. "Now then, if you please, Miss Foster. I would very much like to have dinner."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jane's face still burned from the blow. Her hand shook as she reached up to feel the cheek, a faint taste of blood filling her mouth. Her eyes began to water.

Paralyzed with fear, she dumbly stared straight forward. His gaze was merciless – she could feel it boring into her.

She was a curiosity to him – he was waiting to see what she might do. She wasn't going to play the part.

"Come now Miss Foster," he said suddenly, his voice causing her to flinch. "Up, up… I cannot have you starving yourself, hmm?"

She kept her silence, her gaze rising to meet his.

"Very well, starve yourself. Might I at least get you something to drink?" He asked, feigning some sort of polite decency – as if it's perfectly okay that he just assaulted her.

"Water," she uttered.

His gaze lingered upon hers for a moment longer before he turned away, his back to her as a peculiar flash of light and accompanying smell caused a glass of water to appear in his hand. He made it obvious he was placing the water on the table next to where she was supposed to sit. He pulled out the chair, gesturing for her to come hither.

She refused, staying exactly where she was. It was a push of the air, it seemed, that made her stand up. She almost fell over in surprise.

"Do not make me force you," He threatened, though his gaze was not at her. He was admiring whatever was on his fingertips – magic, it looked like. In any other circumstance, she would be absolutely floored to witness such a complete disregard for physics as she knew it. Instead, she was horrified.

She adhered to his unspoken demand, nearly fumbling over herself as she made it to the chair he was offering – but only after he was on his way toward sitting in his own position across the table from her. As if he couldn't harm her from anywhere.

She eyed the food that was in front of her. Why was he insisting on her to eat? She's seen enough movies...

"Dr. Foster – it is doctor, is it not? - if I wished to kill you, I would have done so while you were unconscious in my keep for so long. I am utterly insulted you would think otherwise," he supplied, either reading her mind or easily reading her expression. She glowered. "Poison is quite messy and it is not my style, if you will. So unless you'd like to kill your own self by withering away into nothing over the course of the next few days, I'd suggest you take advantage of my kindness while I still have it."

Her eyes narrowed as she looked over the food offered to her. Her stomach grumbled. He would starve her and blame it on her. What would Thor think?

"You slapped me," she said, weighing the syllables on her tongue, as if testing them out. "Why should I want to eat with you?"

He gave a long-suffering sigh, his eyes rolling back.

"That is what masters must do to their servants who are out of line," He spoke evenly, looking at her calmly, his hands folding in front of him.

"I'm _not_ your servant," she hissed.

"You are not. However, I have saved your life. If you looked closely at your wounds, Miss Foster, which, no doubt you have, they disappeared. You owe me respect. From now on, I demand civility from you and I shall be equally civil toward you," He spoke calmly.

It seemed logical to him. Everything he has done, she thought, seemed logical to him.

"So, what you're saying is, anything I do that you don't like will automatically be 'disrespectful,'" She said, shaking her head. "How controlling."

He watched her – his eyes narrowing just slightly as he appraised her.

His fingers tapped on the table in an even rhythm – _one, two, three, four, five..._

It was a game of verbal chess. A game he would cheat to win every time.

"Your use of profanity is disrespectful," He countered.

"That is a fair argument," she replied, weighing it in, sitting up further in her chair, gaining a confidence she wasn't sure she had in her. If he was going to kill her, at least she knew she was basically dead when he found her. "But you cannot blame me for being angry at what you've done to my world."

"I cannot blame you for being angry at things you do not yet understand—"

"That's—"

"Ah, ah," he said, a single finger raising to wag at her before she could counter him, and slowly gestured to the plate in front of her. "Now, as much as I enjoy debating with you, Dr. Foster, I do believe our food is getting quite cold and I would like to eat."

Her eyes glanced over the food before her only briefly before returning to his gaze. A wry smirk crossed his features.

"Please, help yourself," He pressed.

Her stomach made an audible sound of disdain as she smelled the food before her. It was fit enough for a Thanksgiving feast – turkey, squash, potatoes. All of that was laid out in front of her.

Before she could linger on the possible consequences of sharing this meal with the monster across from her, she was picking up her fork and knife and cutting into a slice of turkey.

Part of her felt wrong for being here with him, knowing that there were people starving because of him. There are people who have been torn away from their homes that have been destroyed. She felt guilty for enjoying the savory bite of the turkey and for stuffing the rest in her fact faster than she could even think.

She stabbed into each of the vegetables with a fork but slowed down her eating. Only to look up to see that he had only taken a few bites and was mostly watching her rather than eating his meal himself. She flushed a bright red, embarrassed. He smirked at her, seeing her embarrassment to which she looked back down at her plate.

Once she was finished, she grabbed her cup of water and guzzled it down in nearly one swig. It was unladylike, but never was she known for her femininity. When she finished, she looked at him, who had managed to finish at least half of his plate, but left quite a bit of it untouched. He was still watching her with those piercing green eyes.

"How curious I've been, Jane Foster, to know the woman who has changed Thor's heart in such a manner," he pressed lazily, his finger tracing a pattern into the wine glass at his side, his attention momentarily away from her. He took a sip of the wine before resuming the activity from before. "Yet you are not so fascinating, I must admit."

She narrowed her eyes at the jab. She crossed her arms across her chest. "Thank you," She retorted. "What were you expecting?"

He perked up at her words. His fingers stopped in their lazy motion and now all his attention was at her.

"Not you." He chuckled. It rang through the room, reverberating until it met her ears.

She shifted uncomfortably in her chair. It wasn't funny, whatever he was laughing at. If he was truly laughing. She couldn't tell.

"Since I'm so disappointing, perhaps you should return me and ignore that this ever happened. I won't tell Thor."

He laughed again, harder this time.

She sat there in discomfort – obviously not in on the joke he's made with himself.

He had a screw loose somewhere, she thought.

"No, I think not. You're quite useful."

Her stomach dropped at his words and she began to regret eating the food so quickly. It was on its ascent just as quickly as its descent.

"Thor will kill you if you hurt me," she said, her hands folding into fists. She didn't want to seem like the damsel in distress but she also knew what cards seemed to be the most effective.

"Quite a possibility, I'd say." He was nonplussed, his hand dismissing the comment.

"I'm not going to help you willingly. Whatever it is you want. So, you might as well just do whatever you did to the others."

"Why, that is no _fun_ , Jane," he said, his smirk turning gruesome.

"If I'm caught between some stupid feud because you're jealous of your brother—"

His hand slammed down on the table, silencing her. She jumped back, shocked.

"He is _not_ my brother."

She remained still, hoping not for another outburst from him. Her eyes remained peeled on him but remained silent. Clearly everything regarding Thor seemed to touch a nerve that causes such angry outbursts. She was not surprised, really. She only partly knew of their strained relationship and by some unhealthy jealousy, he must have just brought her here to taunt Thor.

She shifted in her seat and regained her composure. She won't stand a chance with this man if she just remains passive. He'd sooner kill her.

She swallowed the thick lump in her throat before speaking again.

"I'm not going to argue with you about what you believe especially considering how you like to win your arguments. I'd much rather know why I'm here," she said, her confidence regained.

It was as though all anger seemed to dissolve into a mocking sort of entertainment for him. He smirked at her, his lips curling upward into an odd sort of grin.

"Why, Jane, I always believed you to be an intelligent woman. So tell me, why is it, do you think, I've brought you here?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"You want to use me as leverage against Thor," She stated, staring blankly at him. "It's obvious. If that is entirely true that must make you the pettiest dictator our world has ever seen. Mass murder, cities grounded, wars waged… and for what? To prove to your brother that you are better? You're a _child_."

She blinked and Loki had darted out of his seat, his hand smacking down on the table with enough force that it shook. Jane's insides immediate receded. She immediately nearly jolted out of her chair. _You had to say that_ , _didn't you, Jane?_

"You know nothing," He seethed, "You feeble, stupid girl."

He nearly tossed the chair aside and was stalking toward her.

 _Dammit, Jane, run, just go…_

She knew there really was nowhere to run. But she would be damned if she didn't try.

She darted up out of her seat and backed away from him. Though she doubted it would be much use against him, she wished she had a weapon of some sort. It would make her feel better, if anything.

"Don't touch me," She said, backing away into the door that she found very quickly was locked. She turned and tried harder to open. "Leave me alone!" She cried out.

He was upon her like a viper attacking its prey. His hand went for her neck, grabbing it, not enough to cut off air flow, but enough to be painful. She squirmed in his grasp, her eyes wide as she stared at the man who might just kill her.

"Let go of me!" She cried out, fighting the hand that grabbed her.

"You must learn to speak to me with respect," He growled.

The scepter she had seen in various SHIELD videos appeared in his hand. It glowed a brilliant blue in front of her. He lowered the point of it just so that it nearly touched her chest, but not entirely. She saw him both control and kill people with this.

She felt moisture running down her cheeks. "Please, no," She begged, squirming still in his grasp.

"You must ask politely, Miss Foster. Now to whom are you speaking?"

"Loki," She squeaked as the scepter came closer.

"Incorrect," he said, his eyes narrowing, "My title, Miss Foster."

Every ounce of stubbornness wanted to prove him wrong. She wanted to repeat what she already said once again. She couldn't call him a King. It was silly. It was wrong. But making a martyr out of herself wasn't going to solve anything. She needed to give in for now.

"King Loki," she corrected. The scepter lowered away from her and his grip on her throat loosened. Time seemed to stop as she dropped to the floor, curling into herself immediately as if that might ward him off.

He appraised her with those green eyes of his, easily discarding his anger and moving on.

"It does not have to be this way, Miss Foster," he said. "I do not wish to control you. But I shall not stand for your insolence, either. It is a choice you must make. It is sad to see an intelligent woman such as yourself not make the better choice to simply _give in,"_ he said, removing his hand from her throat. She sank down against the wall.

She remained silent for a long while as he watched her before turning away and looking out the same window he was when she first entered the room.

"What do you want from me?" She rasped, her voice cracking as she wiped away the tears with her flannel sleeve. "If you want to torture me… just kill me now."

She didn't look at him, but she could hear the smirk in his voice. "No, I would very much like to keep you alive for now, Jane," he said, lightly. She realized it was the first time he didn't say "Miss Foster."

"You haven't answered my question," She pressed.

"I have no need to answer your question. A king does not answer to his supplicant," he spoke. "But you have proven your worth, Miss Foster, so I do believe I shall keep you around for quite some time."

She repressed the groan that nearly fell from her lips, her head rocking back to look at him through narrowed eyes.

"To wrap up our little meeting, I've been meaning to make a few calls. There are quite a few people worried about you, you see. As I have stated before, you are quite the treasured girl. Now, if you'll just stay put for a few more moments…" He spoke as a remote appeared in his hand. He turned on the television on the wall across from her. After some fiddling around, he managed to work the television that was used to communicate with other SHIELD facilities.

She rose to her feet, curious to see what he was doing. She was not surprised when she saw what looked to be the interior of an aircraft, watched by many faces.

Loki's smirk turned into a downright grin, his hands folding behind his back as he stood before the television, which clearly doubled as one of Tony Stark's computers. Jane had no idea Loki contacted SHIELD so easily, but she wasn't surprised. Loki most likely knew where Thor was at all times. He knew how to keep Thor at bay while he was fighting the rebellion's side. But she had never heard of Loki contacting them so easily.

"I wish to speak with your director," he announced though he knew it was not the only audience he would have. She had no doubt there were whatever Avengers were left upon that aircraft. And no doubt, did they appear on the screen after several moments of people shuffling around. There was Director Fury… Behind him was Tony Stark and Steve Rodgers, both stolid looking, as though they weren't shocked by Loki's call.

"Well _fuck_ , speaking of the devil, if it isn't The Almighty One himself?" She heard Tony Stark scoff in the distance.

She recognized his voice from meeting him once before after the battle of New York while he was recovering in the bunker she stayed in. She managed to work on several projects pertaining to Loki's magic with him after getting over her star-struck nature. Before, when they thought they still stood a chance in the war, he was always so very lively and managed to put a smile on her face. But now, there was hardly any mirth in his voice. It was dead. Just like she felt, looking at all of them but being stuck in this room with Loki.

"Your words have never entertained, Mr. Stark," Loki scoffed, but directed his attention mostly the Director who was front and center.

"What do you want this time, Loki?" Director Fury spoke, his voice strained, as though they had already been through this a million times. "We have already tried negotiating. Your presence here is not working out."

"Oh, yes we have, Director. I have been meaning to thank you for your kindness in lending me this pleasant temporary residence," he said gesturing to the beautiful scenery outside. "I'd say things have been, as you say, working out perfectly."

Jane could see Fury rolling his only eye at Loki's words. It must be easy to do so when Loki wasn't so close to him physically.

"What do you want, Loki?" the director repeated, agitated.

"I know what we have previously discussed regarding my reign over the United States, but seeing as how your previous leader has not yet surrendered but has agreed to discussion with me, I thought some leverage might be called for," Loki said confidently, then turned around to signal Jane to come stand next to him.

Jane remained very still, looking at him with wide eyes. When Loki saw she wasn't walking toward him, he walked up to her, grabbed her wrist and yanked her to stand next to him.

"You failed to keep Dr. Foster safe, I realized. I found her in one of your failing cities where your employees did not keep an eye on her. She was going to die, had I not found her. Considering she is one of your most brilliant minds, I thought it would be best to keep her for myself. She would be quite helpful amongst my war effort and seeing as you have no need for her anymore." As Loki spoke, she visualized herself shooting a bullet through his head repeatedly.

Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse, Thor appeared on the screen. _Thor_. Loki stiffened at her side.

"Thor! Please help," She exclaimed before he had enough time to realize what was going on.

"Jane?" Thor asked, as though confused and then turned to Director Fury. "You told me she was going to be kept safe!"

"It's not their fault," Jane exclaimed, "Just please- "

Before she could end her sentence, her voice strained to make any more noise. Loki was glaring at her. She tried speaking but nothing came out. She panicked.

"Brother, if you hurt her, I swear to the Norns, you will regret the day you were born," Thor swore.

Loki gave a dark, mirthless chuckle, shaking his head. "Far too late for that, Odinson. "However, your little mortal is far too useful to me. If you dare come within 100 miles of her, Thor, I shall know. My mind can easily be changed about her worth and I shall see your move against my spoils as a call to war, and I shall burn your cities to the ground without the aforementioned compromise over policy. Are we clear, Director Fury? Odinson?"

"You fucking bastard," She heard Tony say as he was throwing his arms up. "What is she to you? A toy? You're fucking disgusting." Her heart warmed slightly at his defense of her. Not everyone gets both the care of an Asgardian god and Tony Stark himself. It felt like reasons to push through this and figure out an escape.

Steve Rodgers, who was silent the entire time, seemed to want nothing to do with this. He walked out of the room.

"End this, Loki. Your heart is not this black," Thor pleaded.

"Is it not?" Loki asked, his head tilting to the side. "Or am I the monster your kind has always taken me for?" He laughed again, as though this was a joke to him now. It was a mad, disgusting laugh. She shuddered slightly. "Now, as much as I would like to sit here and chat with you charming individuals, I do have other tasks to attend to. So, I'll ask you again. Are we clear on these terms? Or shall I add some more reinforcement?"

Director Fury blinked at him, casting a quick glance at Thor who looked so worked up yet so broken, her heart broke a little.

She was at a total loss. There was no way her life would be worth enough to save and now she completely relied on Loki's mercy.

She felt tears welling in her eyes once more. She wanted this call to end. She couldn't say anything or do anything without risking her life.

"Crystal," Director Fury spoke with utter disdain. "Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"That would be all, Director. Many thanks again, for this fine establishment."

She heard a sigh and the television went back to the SHIELD logo almost immediately. She could feel the pressure in her throat that seemed to restrain her from talking ease and disappear.

"I apologize, but I did not require your input, Miss Foster," Loki replied, though she knew he was not in the least apologetic. "I merely needed to get my point across. Now that you're aware of your situation-"

"You're a monster," she stated bluntly.

His expression eased suddenly, and for a moment, Jane was sure he was going to injure her again due to her accusation. Such was not the case.

He grinned, but it wasn't exactly menacing – just amused. "I am aware."

He slowly crossed his arms, his gaze finally leaving hers. She took this time to wipe the tears from her eyes.

"Miss Foster, we will be leaving this building tomorrow morning quite early. I suggest you gather your belongings. Miss Andersen will show you to your room and will also wake you up in a timely manner," he instructed, immediately dismissing whatever it was that caused him to go into such a contemplative silence.

Out of nowhere, the lady from before appeared in the doorway.

Jane was relieved to be able to leave his presence finally. She couldn't take being in the same room with this cruel madman. She shook slightly as she rose, her knees wobbling as she stumbled up to follow the woman out of the room.

"Goodnight, Miss Foster," She heard Loki say behind her before she left the room.


	3. Chapter 3

The amount of sleep Jane received that night was minimal.

The first thing Jane could think of upon getting back to her room was escape. She knew she had to at least try before resigning herself to the fate Loki had in store for her. She tried the window first, pushing it, slamming her fists and then slamming her chair against it before sliding down the wall in defeat, crying what few tears she had left.

Then, she made for the door, trying to figure out how to unhinge it in any way possible. However, any time she touched the metal, it seemed to have been radiating heat, burning her whenever she touched it. She cried out, cradling her burnt hand and went to the sink to rinse it with cold water.

The sorcerer must have heard the furniture against the window and considered that she was trying to escape. She doesn't know if that was his doing but she didn't want to continue regardless.

Second, she paced about her room, searching in every drawer and crevice for the possibility of a pen and paper. She needed to do _something_ or she might go insane.

Luckily, a pad of paper and a pencil happened to be in the smaller drawer of the plain desk that was sitting in her room. She sighed with relief and went to sit on top of her bed.

Whenever she was stressed in college or graduate school, she would write down all the things she was worrying about or the things that were on her mind. Once they were written down, everything seemed less scary and stressful.

She bit at shaft of the pencil in her anxiety. She needed to calm down. He wasn't going to win this. He wasn't going to get the better of her. This was his plan, probably. To play with her like a toy until he got bored and then disposed of her. Watch her suffer… Who knew such a kind soul like Thor would have such a brother like this? Or rather, be raised alongside him? She shuddered, wondering what could have gone wrong.

She wrote down her thoughts as she had them. _He's masochistic. He's not going to kill me yet. I have time._

She looked at the digital clock, seeing that, in her panic, four hours had already passed.

She laid back onto her bed, finding herself emotionally drained, setting the pencil and paper on her stomach and stared at the ceiling until everything on her mind was completely drained onto this pad of paper.

Before she knew it, there was a knock on the door and it was morning. She shot up, her heart nearly fluttering into her throat. _Please don't be him…_

"Miss Foster?" The familiar female voice sounded from behind the door. Sure, it wasn't Loki, but it was his robot-like assistant instead that couldn't give her any warmth or reassurance.

"Yes?" She called back groggily.

"I shall be back in 5 minutes to guide you to the jet. Is this adequate time?" She asked.

"I guess," She replied. A jet?

She knew that they were leaving but he just said leaving this building. The last thing she wanted to do was be stuck on a jet with the crazed man. Or any small space, for that matter.

She rose from the bed, gathering her small amount of belongings, including the pencil and pad of paper, into the duffel bag that she had been carrying around all this time. A realization formed in her sleep-addled brain…

 _Phone_. She searched through the bag, pulling everything out in a hurry. Surely he didn't actually search through her stuff? But then again, she wouldn't put it past him. It really should have surprised her to know that her satellite phone SHIELD had given her was gone.

She sighed, leaning her head against the bed post, knowing she should make it a rarity that she should get her hopes up. The moment that bomb went off next to her, she was dead. She needed to remember that.

"Miss Foster?" Ms. Andersen called from the other side once more.

"Coming," She said, zipping up her bag and heading to the door that Ms. Andersen ended up opening, as Jane didn't want to take her chances with whatever seemed to heat up the metal of the door from last night.

They went down the same hallway that had led to the elevator she took the night before, but turned another way and headed out double doors into what seemed to be an airfield that had a single jet. It wasn't one of SHIELD's black jets, which made her wonder how Loki had attained something that didn't look alien otherwise. However, it looked more like a scaled down version of Air Force One.

There were stairs leading into the cabin that she was herded into by a couple of Loki's robot-people. She guessed that should she of had the opportunity to run, it would have been then if not for his "servants." It wasn't large, but it was pretty comfortable, the cushions and carpet in different beige and red tones. It screamed wealth. Her heart dropped when she realized whose insignia was embroidered onto the cabinets. This was Tony Stark's private jet. Loki must have taken it while he was taking over Stark Tower during the battle of New York. Tony must have narrowly escaped, then considering she saw him on the television last night. She wondered if he still had his suits…

The one up side to this was that Loki himself was still nowhere to be seen a couple of minutes after she boarded the jet. She wondered if he had any intention of flying with him at all, considering he had no need for transportation. He seemed to be able to move wherever he so desired to go at any point in time.

This comforted her for all of five minutes when she saw the devil himself walking from the building to board the jet, wearing a deep green suit and black tie, his hair slicked back. One might even believe he was human if they didn't know any better. He saw her staring at him from her window and gave a wink. She felt like she would hurl whatever was left in her stomach and looked away. She turned her head to the window and kept it there as he boarded, not wishing to look to even further acknowledge his existence.

Surely, he was only doing this to bother her. Why would he need a jet? Why would he need any of this? She curled up into her seat, looking away, hoping to God or whoever was listening that he would sit far away from her.

She could hear him sit across the aisle from her but she didn't move from where she was sitting.

She decided that this was torture.

"Sleep well, Miss Foster?" He asked, though there was a bit of mirth undermining his tone. "Ms. Andersen tells me your room was quite a mess when you left it. Was there a bit of trouble? Perhaps a rodent?"

She continued to ignore him and his mockery. He knew she was trying to escape and failed. She didn't just imagine her burned finger tips from the heated up metal of the door handle and hinges.

"Fuck you," She said thickly, rolling her eyes at his tone.

"Such language for a lady. Though I am known for my promiscuity, you are, as you Midgardians might say, _not my type_ ," He said. She nearly laughed at his unnatural use of such a saying. It didn't sound right. However, she didn't want to amuse him any further so she restrained herself to just a sharp inhale and exhale.

"For shame," She said sardonically under her breath.

Oh no he did not, the Darcy-inspired thought said. She felt like disappearing into oblivion. Anything she said could, and would, be used against her – a game of wit she had not the energy nor stomach for.

"Oh, please," was all she could muster.

"Don't beg, Miss Foster. It is unbecoming."

 _Oh, my god, shut up. Shut up. Shut up._ Her mind begged. She didn't even notice the captain speaking over the intercom for them to fasten their seatbelts. As if a plane crash would kill a God. She actually hoped some freak of nature would shoot them out of the sky.

She didn't bother buckling her seatbelt.

"However, it is tempting. How might you think Thor might feel after I bed his woman?"

She considered jumping out of the emergency door behind her to escape this torture.

There were images that were not quite her own intruding on her mind – him forcing himself upon her, holding her by her neck.

"Stop…" She muttered pleadingly.

"Did he fuck you, Jane? Are you flushing because of how much of an embarrassment of a sexual partner he is?"

He was prodding her, picking at each thing he could use to make her as uncomfortable as possible as she was trapped on this plane with him.

Jane bit her lip and looked away to restrain herself from reacting, even as her nails drew blood from the palm of her hands.

"It is understandable," he continued. She wished to cover her ears. "Woman of Asgard would seek his bed only for his title, but then come to _me_ if they truly wished to have an ample experience."

 _Shut up. Shut up. Shut up._

Blood was rushing to her ears, causing her heartbeat to be audible.

"Nothing to say, Jane?" He prodded after a couple more moments of silence as the whir of the jets gained momentum as they were airborne. "Perhaps because you know my words are true."

"Shut up," She snapped, turning on him. "Shut _up_. I'm not going to listen to your lies."

He was stunned. For a moment, she thought maybe he'd kill her with the dirty look he was giving her. His shock, surprisingly, turned into a mocking laugh.

"Oh? You think so very highly of your precious Thor that you believe what I say are lies?"

He found it. The tender underbelly of this all. He knew that she knew nothing about Thor except what he's spoken briefly of in the past couple of months whenever they had time to spend together. She knew nothing of his past. Nothing of other women he might have had in his bed. She hasn't even slept with him.

"I might be a liar, Jane, but even lies are based off fact," He said, his voice low and grave. "And the fact is, you know nothing of Thor. Your feelings are based on infatuation. He will leave you just as quickly as he came."

She glared at him, knowing he was just waiting for her to snap again. She wished he would stop talking. She wished he would just disappear.

"You know nothing about us."

"I have known Thor for over a thousand years – hundreds of your lifetimes. You don't believe I would have an idea of what he will do with _you_?"

She pressed her lips together, regretting even arguing with him. The worst part was, she knew he was right. Loki was Thor's brother. If anyone knew Thor it was him – he was more perceptive than she'd care to be.

"Thor is a better man than you would ever hope to be," she seethed. "He has been nothing but good to me. I may not know anything about him, but I do love him for who he's been to me. I'm sure you don't know how that feels."

Again, she was thinking that perhaps he was going to attack her. She braced herself. She knew she was walking on thin ice.

But, yet again, he grinned that sickening grin she wanted to slap off his face.

"Why, you _are_ fun, Miss Foster. You do not disappoint."

" _Shut up_ ," She muttered under her breath, crossing her arms and turning back the other way, wondering how hard she might have to hit her head until she was unconscious.

"If the Lady Jane requests," He surrendered, surprisingly enough and let out a long-suffering sigh.

She relaxed slightly, thinking he might quit the jabs for however long this flight might take. It was then that she realized she had _no_ idea where they were going or how long this silence was actually going to last.

"Where are we going?" She asked a couple of minutes later, turning to look at him. He raised his hands in surrender and then shrugged, looking amused that she wanted him to talk again. He was truly an asshole of all trades. And a child.

She glared at him but then decided it didn't matter. She'd find out eventually.

"King Loki," A man sounded from the back of the cabin. "A phone call from Korea."

She heard Loki get up and walk toward the back of the plane and shut a door. She could hear his voice coming through the door but it was speaking fluent Korean. Accent and everything. But of course he could speak Korean. He was a god, after all. Why shouldn't he speak Korean?

She rubbed her temples, wondering where she went wrong. Perhaps it would have been better if he just took over her mind so she wouldn't have to knowingly put up with him. But then again… She thought back to their conversation. Would he rape her? She wouldn't put it past him. Especially if her consciousness was taken over by some sort of mind stone. She shuddered when he opened the door and walked back to his seat.

Still, he made no comment to her, ignoring her just as she was ignoring him. It was a relief.

She was on edge – she was so very tired but yet the thought of sleeping while Loki was sitting less than a yard away was something she couldn't even fathom. She hated the fact that he was on a plane with her. She hated the fact that she didn't even know where she was going. She also slightly hated the fact that she was here in the first place because of Thor – because of Loki's jealousy and outrage towards him. She was just some pawned middle man for two gods' brawl.

She heard nothing but silence on his end – what was he doing? Just sitting there? She looked over to him – his head bowed slightly and his unruly hair covering part of his face. His eyes were shut, but his brows were pulled together as if in concentration.

She didn't think he was asleep, but she wasn't sure if he was awake, either.

At this point, she didn't care.

A darker part of her mind wondered what it might take to kill Loki. He was vulnerable right now – sleeping with her sitting right there. She hardly believed it would be easy – someone could have easily done it before.

Could she kill him if she needed to? If she had to? She supposed she was the closest to him, so if anyone would do it…

No. She knew he was an awful, horrible man with few redeeming qualities, if any, but he was still a living being. Even if she could, she wasn't sure if she would.

Not only that, but she knew Thor would be heartbroken, regardless of what Loki has done.

She looked out the window, unbelieving of herself that she would even contemplate murder.

O-O-O-O-O-

" _Shut up, Loki,"_ He heard several voices repeat in unison until he could hear her voice say the same exact words throughout his past. Thor and his friends, Odin…

" _Shut up, Loki,_ " his former wife would spit at him whenever they fought. _"Why must you be so cruel?!"_ She would hit him or slap him whenever he said something she hated. He knew it was well-deserved, even in his selfishness.

In the beginning, he would often make up for such fights with flowers from his mother's garden or silly little trinkets that she found so amusing that he'd find in the streets of the market. He'd show her magic tricks, bring her treats. He'd do anything for her, no matter how angry she would be with him.

But such things could only last so long. It took another decade until he figured out she might never love him the way he wished she would. So, Loki did the only thing he could to cope with such things. He ignored her.

However, Jane was most certainly not Sigyn and he cared not for her words. She was means to an end and in the end, he'd likely be rid of her in one way or the other.

 _What is your need of the girl?_ The Other's voice echoed in his head and he shuddered. It had been quite obnoxious for the past couple of days, ever since he found Jane Foster nearly dead. The constant threats were denying him any sort of slumber.

 _A distraction for my enemies._ He replied bluntly, not wishing for any further questioning.

 _You are wasting time._ He _will not be pleased, Laufeyson. Your petty sentiment will be your ruin._

 _Do not think I have any sentiment for the girl. She is to keep Thor away._

 _Prove it, Laufeyson. Your time is growing short. You know the punishment for those who fail._

The Other swiftly left his mind, leaving it barren and as empty as he entered it. He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. Images of the torture flashed through his mind, though they were not his thoughts. They had been filling his waking dreams as of late. A torture in its own right.

Perhaps once he had the United States under his thumb these threats of torture would end. He had to keep moving and after Mexico was defeated, his progress remained stagnant due to the growing amount of resistance in countries not immediately occupied by his armies where panic and destruction were being caused by the humans' own hand, not his. He needed reassurance. He needed the United States to comply. So, he was going to the capital with Jane Foster.

She was going to humanize him to the people he was trying to rule and he needed her fully conscious. It wouldn't be something _He_ would understand. _He_ was a destroyer of worlds, not a conqueror.

It would be simple, really. He has already placed the threats to the other side to not come near him or Jane if they valued her. Upon landing, he was assured he and Jane would gain a public eye. Not only will he be getting at Thor and tapping into his rage, but he would also have Jane Foster's intelligence of Midgardian technology, whether she'll willingly give it to him or not.

Yes, he knew what he was doing. He didn't like to be questioned. Especially not by some half-witted species who had no realm to call its own.

"Oh, Miss Foster?" He sang.

The back of her head was facing him, as she stared into the nothingness of the open sky. She noticeably flinched when she heard his voice. She didn't turn to listen to him. He rolled his eyes.

"I suggest that you might want to look a bit more presentable. I do believe quite a sizeable amount of press might be greeting us when we land."

Her shoulders rolled up to her ears, as if that would stop him from talking to her. He couldn't help himself – he laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said, Miss Foster," he chuckled again. She made an audible noise of irritation. She would not survive one day on Asgard – no one ever dared to complain or question him but Jane did it almost exactly a daily task.

"Why should I care?"

"To put it frankly, my dear, I'd like you to look presentable. You will be arriving with _me_ after all. I do not wish you to look like I just swept you off of the streets like some beggar…" He paused and hummed, "But I suppose that is exactly what I did."

She made a noise in her throat – a gagging sound. He wondered if she was trying to choke herself. Or maybe that's just the noise Midgardian women made when they were annoyed.

"Miss Foster? Now?"

She turned her head to glare at him. He thought about plucking those eyeballs from her head.

"Am I supposed to be your whore?" She asked. "At least, to the public?"

He tapped his chin, crossing his arms. "You know, I had not thought of it like that. But that sounds more and more appealing every time you bring it up."

Her eyes widened, as if not expecting that answer. She'll learn soon enough not to mess with him. She'll regret it shortly.

He laughed.

"If you do as I ask you to right now, perhaps I'll be kind and forget what it is you keep suggesting. If not, well…"

"I don't even have anything to change into or…"

"If you'd look in your bag there I believe you will find something," He said, eying the duffel bag under her chair.

She grumbled something inaudible that sounded much like "that's impossible" as she reached under her chair and unzipped the bag and looked in horror at the green and black dress that he figured would look quite flattering on her.

"Well, Miss Foster, what will it be?"

"Is this a threat?" She asked, gesturing to the dress.

"It is what you make of it, my dear," He said languidly, his eyes narrowing in annoyance.

She looked at the dress again, her face shriveled in absolute horror.

"You're disgusting," she spat.

His grip tightened on the sides of his chair, his ears beginning to burn from the blood immediately rushing to his head.

"I'm losing my patience, Miss Foster. Either you wear the dress this very moment or I will make your life that much more uncomfortable for you. I doubt you'd like that."

She paled and rose from her seat, grumbling curses as she moved past him to the bathroom, dragging the bag behind her. He gave his best smirk at her.

Yes, Jane was going to be much fun.


	4. Chapter 4

After emptying the contents of her stomach, bile and all, Jane managed to brush her hair and rinse her face off in the cramped space. She didn't have makeup, so the circles under her eyes were just going to have to remain.

She looked at the dress he had given her. He threatened her – either she wore it or he would do things she didn't want to think about to her. She wouldn't put it past him, really. He was a disgusting man.

The material felt like a weight on her as she slipped it over her head. It just barely passed her buttocks. She began to regret not shaving her legs but immediately thought better of it – why did she care?

She looked at herself in the mirror in moderate horror. She wore his colors. It was a signal of his ownership, she was sure. His colors meant something, and though she wasn't entirely sure about the depth of the meaning, the symbolism was all the same for what he wanted out of her.

 _You can do this, Jane_ … She thought to herself over again every time she felt like she was going to get sick from nerves anew.

There was a knock on the door. Her insides wilted again and she knelt down and dry-heaved.

"Are you quite alright?" His horrid voice asked deceivingly gently on the other side of the door.

"No," She spat back. "Leave me alone."

"Getting sick will not get you out of this. I will drag you out of this plane if I must."

She didn't doubt him.

"Can you please just… leave me alone? I'm wearing the dress, okay? I don't feel good. Please…" She begged hoarsely, silently thanking whatever ecclesiastical being that was out there that he didn't see her in this state, begging him.

He said nothing for a long while, and then, "Very well. You have five minutes before we prepare to land."

She sighed with relief when she heard his footsteps walk away, her head falling against the sink's cabinet.

She focused on the hum of the plane to give her the peace that she needed.

Surely Thor would not believe that she was willingly doing any of this – he would at least fight for her integrity and he knew his brother enough that he would know how low he would go.

She used the door's handle to pull herself to her feet, her shaking fingers grabbing the door to pull the handle down to open. He was sitting in his seat again, his back to her. She sat behind him, her knees wobbling as she moved.

If she fainted, maybe he'd forget about this little ploy.

But she wouldn't put it past him to use her like some sort of puppet.

She strapped herself into the seat as instructed when they were beginning to land.

The plane wobbled to a halt and slowed onto the tarmac where groups of people were waiting.

"I can't do this," She muttered.

"Oh, but you will," Loki replied from the seat in front of her.

He rose the moment the plane stopped, his gaze looking over her. It wasn't entirely clear that he liked what he saw, but the deal was to wear the dress. That was it.

He then re-directed his attention to the crew and barked out orders to each of them, giving Ms. Andersen her belongings.

Finally, he turned his attention to Jane once again, his pale hand unfurling in front of her. Jane looked at it like it was a poisonous snake, ready to strike. She felt the wave of nausea sweep over her.

"Please…" She murmured, as if her pleading was of any use to her.

He rolled his eyes and dove for her wrist, yanking her up. She felt her arm crack in an uncomfortable way as he yanked it, her seatbelt suddenly nonexistent.

They fought like this, though it wasn't much of a fight – Jane used her limbs to strike at him in any way she could, but he was like an unmovable stone. It was when he was grabbing for one of her limbs that she managed to free a hand and slap him across the face.

He pulled away immediately, nearly pushing her down but one of the seats caught her.

She felt like she might have broken her wrist. She cradled it as he pulled her away, looking at her with absolute disbelief. The world froze as they stared at each other.

The crew stared on – unmoved by the spectacle she was putting on.

Now she's done it.

He yanked her so that his body was flush with his, his heavy breath moving the hair around her face.

"Don't believe for a second that I will forget that," he seethed before he let go of her wrist, causing her to fall to the floor. He stood over her, his chest heaving in the obviously withheld outrage.

"Lay one more hand on me and I will tell Dr. Selvig to skin himself with his own knife while you watch," he threatened before moving down to pick her up once more.

She crawled away, standing up on her own accord, using one of her arms to brace herself on the chair to support her weight.

So, the rumors were true... Erik was in Loki's clutches. Unless he was lying, which didn't seem likely as Erik hadn't responded to her texts, calls, or emails in months.

She didn't want to take any chances. She allowed Loki to move her along to stand at the door of the plane to descend the stairs and face the crowd.

The stairs were being lowered onto the cement.

His hand grabbed for hers and yanked her arm around his in such a tight hold she lost circulation.

"Very good. Now, if you please, Miss Foster, I do not wish to keep them waiting," Loki said, nearly dragging her down the aisle until they reached the door of the cabin. She was shoved into his side, his arm wrapping firmly about her waist as he grinned and waved at the people.

"Smile," his voice whispered into her ear. She did so, but it was most obviously forced. She couldn't imagine she was the best of actresses. Especially not when she was standing next to the man who just threatened to skin her adopted father alive.

He led her down the stairs, holding her hand as though he were a gentleman. Secret service-looking men held the paparazzi off as they walked through them.

Everything to her was a whir of flashing lights as she walked as fast as Loki would drag her along to the limousine that was waiting for them. He really seemed to have this down. Like her, this was just for show. It's to make him look human. A wealthy, powerful human.

She shuddered as Loki's arm moved to her lower back. Surely, they knew this façade wasn't real.

Sooner than she'd realized, he ushered her into the limousine, the paparazzi following them closely. She moved as far away from him, on the other side, as possible, her arms crossed across her chest and hunched over.

"That was not so bad, now was it?" He asked and she shot him a nasty glare and flipped him off. "Careful now, or I'll make sure you don't have fingers to insult me again."

She scowled and resumed looking in the opposite direction, away from him.

As the limousine drove forth, she could piece together slowly where they were. The buildings were notably French and government-like in design, square and monumental. A giant pencil-shaped monument could be seen from across the way. She had never been here before, but she knew from pictures and television that it was Washington DC.

There were streets blocked off that they drove by, covered in people all holding signs. Protests. It gave her hope, if anything, that people were brave enough to take to the streets. She doubted it would sway Loki in the slightest bit. He has a bit more power than the typical checks and balances system that the United States is based upon.

She wondered if he was looking away on purpose or if he realized that this was going on outside his little realm of people and aliens he controls. She wondered if he realized he cannot control _everyone_.

Throughout the town were boarded in store fronts of shops that must have been raided at some point. Police were trying to manage the crowds in their vehicles and walked around with weapons, trying to keep the panic down. She imagined there must have been riots at some point. People thought it was the end of the world when Loki defeated the Avengers in New York. Jane knew she did. After New York came several other cities – Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston.

After those cities were compromised, Loki quickly went overseas, starting with African countries, and quickly resorted to the European and Asian countries. It was almost disturbingly quick. Quite a few countries surrendered without even having to be invaded like Iceland and Norway. Others are still fighting tooth and nail. She liked to think that the United States was one of them, though if she had any guess as to why they were in DC, it would be that Loki was fixing to change that.

However, regardless of all of this, there were people still walking around in their business attire, with briefcases and phones attached to their ear. People were in their cars driving to and from work. Families were walking the sidewalks looking to museums. A field trip was taking place and buses of children were unloading in front of a mall.

If anything, it relieved her to know after all of this time running away from Loki that the world was still spinning.

They stopped in front of what looks to be a residential building. She eyed it out of the window. It most certainly wasn't another bunker, nor was it another taken over SHIELD building. It was just another thing for him to have _for show_. A luxury condo to complete the charade of being human.

She almost snickered at it. Considering he had condemned human nature in every way, it is strange he is trying to replicate the life of a human who is rich and powerful. But what did she expect? Him to have a mothership? It was clear that was not how the Asgardians functioned, but what about those godawful lizard creatures she saw?

She was glad the press had not followed them there, though part of her wished that they did. If she was recorded having been with Loki in this area, at least Thor would know she was safe…

The driver, looking as pale as physically possible upon opening the limousine door for Loki as he stepped out. Loki gave him a grin and then waited for Jane to come out.

"I think you will find this to be much more comfortable for the next few weeks, at least," Loki said, offering his hand to her. She only glared at it and stepped out of the limousine by herself, leaving Loki's hand hanging there. He withdrew it after an awkward moment. It was an act – he was still being seen by people who awaited them to enter the building.

Regardless of how comfortable this might be in comparison, the fact that this was most likely an apartment of some sort meant that she would be sharing a tighter space with the insane man. It disturbed her.

The lobby was contemporary-styled – ritzy and art nouveau she imagined the politicians of the area living in.

A giant crystal chandelier was in the center of the ceiling. Upon their arrival, everyone stopped whatever it was they were doing, unsure of how to react to the man who was walking by her side, guiding her along.

She wanted to disappear into the walls of the building, or turn around and run as fast as she could. The looks she was receiving from the people were horrific. She felt as though she betrayed all of them.

"One wrong move, Miss Foster, and your Dr. Selvig will suffer," He threatened, though his mouth didn't move and his voice seemed to only reach her ears only. She nodded curtly as she was herded into the elevator, surrounded by Loki's robot people.

One of them pressed a button for the very top floor. Of course, the penthouse. Once they reached the top, one of his servants unlocked the door for them and handed Loki the key. To her relief, it was huge. The back wall was simply a giant window, overlooking all the city. Had the sun been out that day, it would have been the only source of light as windows covered the place wall-to-wall.

A long black mahogany table was in the center with a chandelier that was similar to the one in the lobby over top. It was all very modern, the furniture angular and poignant, mostly black and white. Nothing was over-decorated but rather quite simple. It reminded her of Tony Stark's tower. Perhaps that's why Loki picked it…

There was a staircase, even, that led up to an open library and sitting room. Outside was a balcony with another table overlooking the city.

He instructed Ms. Andersen to take her stuff into her room which Loki said he would show the way to in a bit.

She ignored him, her attention pandering off to this horrendous act that he had – giving him some air like he was remotely human when he was quite literally insane.

Once everyone had left the room – all the servants and the people who tended to Loki's every whim, she was left with him.

"It does not always have to be so difficult, Jane," he said. "We do not have to be this way to each other. I do not wish to make your life here miserable."

She shot him another glare.

"So, I'm supposed to be totally fine with you parading me around like some whore? With you utterly ruining my chances of having a normal life after someone shoots your brains out?"

He was silent. The look he was giving her was enough to murder her ten times over, his emerald eyes appraising her with what looked to be daggers. She supposed she should be thankful that he hates his brother so much to use her against him – if he didn't she'd probably be dead by now.

"No," He said. "I am not so naïve as to think you would go quietly. But I am so apt as to believing that eventually you will realize that you have no choice - none of you do."

"Then you know nothing about the human kind. We will fight for our freedom until our death beds."

He laughed, then. His laugh was sickening. She flinched away from him.

"Yes, the ever so stubborn and idiotic nature of your race will be the death of you, I am sure of it," he said, his laugh dying down into a wicked grin.

She wished to leave. She suddenly felt as if she was trying to talk down Hitler himself. It wasn't a position she ever wished to see herself in. She was not a politician or a diplomat, but yet she was the closest one to Loki there might ever be.

"Will you show me to my room, please?" She asked, trying to muster all her energy into not crying, her head turning from him. Maybe if she didn't see him, she'd be a lot more courageous.

"Why, you wish to retire so soon?"

"I did what you asked me to, now I would like to be alone."

He heaved in a great sigh, seemingly disappointed. She couldn't imagine why.

What was she? Some toy? Now he had to put it away?

"If you wish," he said, surprisingly enough. She tried to let her sigh of relief not be as visible. She didn't want more fuel for his mockery.

He gestured for her to follow him, and she did. They walked down a hallway, just past a couple other doors of rooms that must have been either his or his servants'.

He stopped at one of them and opened it.

She looked at him warily before stepping into the room, her eyes darting from him to the room inside.

"Good day, Miss Foster," He said, a smirk on his lips and shut the door.

She breathed a sigh of relief before she slid down the door with her knees up to her chest, her head falling into her arms. She counted her breaths and tried to even them out before she moved.

She tried to take everything in from the last couple of hours but the majority of her thoughts shifted to Erik. At least he was alive. He's likely valuable to Loki, considering he was the one who helped her create the Foster theory. She felt tears slide down her cheeks unwarranted, thinking of him and how worried she had been this whole time.

Perhaps… perhaps if she got in contact with Thor or SHIELD. She _was_ near their headquarters, after all. They were not visible to the rest of the world as Loki would most likely shut it down just as quickly, but she could imagine that they must be somewhere.

She had to figure out a way to leave.

She slowly rose to her feet to survey her new room, feeling like a dog in its cage.

Two of the walls were also windows with a large gray curtain to cover them with a queen-sized bed in the center. A television was at the wall across from it, and under that, a smaller book case. She sighed with relief. At least she had some form of entertainment this time to keep her mind off of how awfully her life has been going these past couple of days. It was merciful, if anything.

There were two doors, making it similar to a master bedroom, with a bathroom and a closet. The closet was the thing that nearly disturbed her the most. She searched through the shirts hanging up and examined it. It was a frilly thing and hardly her style. She couldn't even imagine Loki determining this so someone else would have had to. It didn't matter. She had no intention of wearing any of this.

She walked to the bathroom to find it with a Jacuzzi, every soap and toiletry a woman could possibly need. She awkwardly examined every one of them, knowing most definitely that another woman bought this for her, whoever that might be. It was a relief to know she would be able to shower again, but at the same time she found it eerie.

Her stomach growling distracted her from continuing to search about her room. She moved to the bed which happened to be extremely comfortable. Everything smelled new and untouched and it made her feel that much better.

She eyed the remote that was on the night stand next to her bed and carefully thought about turning on the television. She knew the moment she did, she would be taken right out of this moment and placed back into the madness that was the rest of the world and what Loki was doing to it.

Her curiosity got the better of her.

The TV whirred on and almost immediately was his face plastered on the television once more, a picture of the man who just threw her into the bedroom shaking hands with the prime minister of Britain, a grin spread across his features, though besides that was the live feed of London burning. She felt sick but her eyes remained peeled.

" _Though he may have announced a truce with the United Kingdom, riots have broken out across the country. Many homes have been invaded. Buildings crumbled to the ground. Up next on CNN, Loki has arrived to the United States Capital and what you can do to prepare for the possibility of apocalypse,"_ the reporter, looking impeccably distressed spoke about the scene behind her.

Jane frowned, and then flipped the channel only to see that it was the feed of them arriving this morning into DC. One look at her horrified face on a television screen and she flipped the channel once more. More destruction, more Loki, and more utter depravity. People upon people without homes, lists and memorials for the dead...

It was far too much.

She switched it off.

This was what she needed to stay grounded no matter what happens, she thought to herself. A constant reminder that she was suffering far less by Loki's hand in comparison to those who have lost their homes, cities, families, lives…

She wasn't dead yet.

She felt like she had to do something. It was similar to the feeling she had when she read the discoveries on dark matter in the universe and the Einstein-Rosen bridge. She knew she was quite possibly the only one who could do anything that mattered and could make the change. She just had to get through to him. Somehow…

O-O-O-O-O-O

"Miss Foster," Loki knocked on the door to the girl's room quite early on in the morning.

It had been a long night for him, stifling riots and resistance movements using his Chitauri army. They might be idiotic creatures who, if not for a master, would knock into each other more often than not, but they did get what he needed done effectively and quickly.

He did not even want to think of the girl who was his captive, as stubborn as she is. He didn't _want_ to think of her, but he found himself doing so, anyway.

She slapped him.

Not to say he has never been slapped by a woman before, as his wife had managed to slap him several a time along with other bed mates who might otherwise feel distraught by him. It did make sense that they would feel so strongly that they would assault him, but there were often consequences in assaulting a Prince of Asgard. Odin would often have a line of punishments in place for anyone who dared to lay a hand on any of the royalty.

In the few moments following Jane's assault, he considered chopping off that hand of hers. He could only imagine Thor's face upon finding a handless Jane Foster returning to him. It was sick and he liked the idea and even entertained it for quite some time.

However, there was something else within him that he considered. The look in her eyes, the way she simply just _did_ it when he knew for certain, had the people he has under his control have a say in what they wanted, wouldn't have even attempted to go _near_ him.

It was not something he expected, to say the least. Most of Thor's women have always been demure, never one to speak up or against him. Loki had never cared for them even before they were in Thor's sights, they were always just pitiful.

Jane is not pitiful. No, in fact, there was a fire within her, a passion that he has yet to find in any other mortal or immortal woman alike. It was enticing. Ruling the mortals thus far has been so easy, so predictable and Jane was neither of those things.

He grinned at her upon opening the door, seeing her hair askew, and her clothes the very same as they were before which made him eye her.

"Did you not see the clothes I had brought for you?" He asked, pressing his lips together, his patience nearing its end with her.

"Not my style," She said simply with a shrug.

"I see," He replied distastefully, looking throughout the room, now seeing that the clothes were sprawled all over the floor and chairs. She must have been looking for something, perhaps? She wouldn't find much, regardless. Unless she was attempting to hide something. He would have to investigate later, he thought.

"What do you want?" She asked, pulling his attention back to her as she began to shut the door – as if that would stop him from looking through her room. He gave a small smirk.

"I have a present for you," he said lightly.

Last night, he had also fashioned something to keep his eye on the girl. Granted, he could look at any time to the goings on in the apartment, it required less energy if he had a tool to track the girl. It wasn't that he didn't trust his own skills at keeping her here, it was that he couldn't trust the girl to not attempt something wildly stupid.

"Give me your wrist."

Her eyes widened at his sudden order.

"Uhm… no," She said, shaking her head, eying his hands that glowed with energy to produce the bracelet he had fashioned.

It was simple, but even in its simplicity it was pretty. His fingers prodded at it, ensuring the spell was there before offering it out to her.

"Do I need to continue with my threats or will you learn to do as I ask you to?"

"What is that?" She asked.

"Why, a present, Jane…"

"Somehow I doubt that you're just giving me jewelry because you like me."

"Oh, but wouldn't that be a delight?" He asked, smirking. "Now do as I ask or I will force you."

She refused. He sighed.

He pulled at her wrist, holding it in place in front of him. He could see bruising already forming from yesterday's little squabble.

He could heal it, he thought. But then, he could also have it serve as a reminder why she shouldn't defy him.

He placed the bracelet around her wrist, ensuring it wouldn't leave her wrist with one more spell. She squirmed, beginning to panic at what he was doing.

"What is that?" She squeaked.

"Insurance, if you will," he said, arching a single brow before letting her take her wrist back as she examined the runes adorning the metal. "In the off chance you decide to do anything ridiculous and stupid. However, it will work in your favor. You will be allowed to leave this building if you stay within a two-mile radius. Is that fair?"

She glared at him with utter distrust. It was a smart thing – not to trust what he said. However, he knew keeping her cooped up here will make her even less pliable. He could afford kindnesses here and there.

"I hate you," she spat.

He rolled his eyes.

"Why, Jane… everyone does."


	5. Chapter 5

"I assume you are hungry?" Loki asked.

As if on cue, Jane's stomach grumbled.

She dreaded the thought of eating another meal with him, but she knew she had to.

"Yes."

"Do forgive me. I need to eat only a couple of times in your week, so I do forget how often mortals need nourishment," He said apologetically, though Jane was certain he did not care. She, too, could eat a few times a week and still live. Though she doubted he wanted her to look even gaunter than she did already.

"You seem to forget about a lot of things we need," She sardonically threw back at him without missing a beat.

He ignored her comment, surprisingly, though she could tell he heard her as he flared his nostrils and looked as though he was restraining himself from argument. Maybe there was a lid to Loki's insufferable wit.

He inhaled audibly, as if retaining his patience. "I shall be gone for the majority of the day today and tomorrow. If you would do me the honor of dining with me this morning, I'd be delighted to have your company."

She knew it was an act, his manners. He wanted to appease her, to be the gentleman he was on camera. She didn't know what happened between the plane trip here and this morning that made him suddenly want to be less of an asshole, but it would seem Loki is a man of many moods. And it was Jane's job to figure out which one's coming next so he doesn't kill her.

She pressed her lips together in annoyance.

"And if I decline? Do I starve?" She asked, wanting to know the boundaries of this odd companionship in this shared apartment of sorts.

"I have no intention of starving you," But he can control what food goes where. "If you require food after this morning, you need only to ask any of my servants or prepare it yourself."

"How kind of you," She muttered.

He hummed in what must be annoyance, leaning against the door way, crossing his long arms. "My, you are _feisty_."

"I'm hungry," she spat back.

"Perhaps you could learn to speak to me with a bit more respect?"

"Oh," she laughed, "Because that's all you've ever shown me."

"I owe you nothing."

"Then expect nothing."

 _Oh god_. Did she really just say that?

She couldn't believe she just said that.

His fingers tapped lazily at the door frame, his eyes narrowed as they looked down his nose. She was half-expecting him to throw a fit, but instead -

"You do like to argue, Miss Foster. Perhaps it would be better to argue over breakfast, if you do not mind. I do not have much time to spare."

He extended his arm to guide her down the hallway that led to the dining table, her silence causing him to smile wryly down at her.

There was a large spread of breakfast items, from fruits to pastries and bread. Sunshine bore down directly through the windows, making the space seem even more open and lively, rather than the dreariness that was the day before.

He pulled out a chair for her and she was tempted to not simply sit elsewhere. She reluctantly sat and grabbed an apple from the bowl in the center of the table, glaring at him as she ate.

His entertainment grew.

"Tomorrow night I am giving a speech," He mentioned suddenly after biting into his apple.

It was truly the first time he ever mentioned what he was doing, taking over her world-wise. She grimaced.

"Your president is a good man," he looked off into the distance past her and out the window. "Impeccable diplomacy."

She felt sick, unsure if he was being truthful or not. "Are you saying that because he agreed to let you take over?" She asked, scoffing.

"No," he replied simply. "He did agree, though there were some terms other countries have not yet considered. I must say I did not consider them, truly. But, all in all, I do believe I have won." He was grinning like the Cheshire cat.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked, taking another bite from her apple almost angrily. "Are you needing someone to boast to? Is that what this is?"

He cleared his throat, a single brow raising at her comment as he weighed his answer.

He wiped his mouth with a napkin. "Well, no. I-"

"You what?" She stood up from her seat. "You just take over my country and my world and I'm supposed to just _sit_ here and listen to you?"

His expression was unchanging as he gestured back to her chair.

"Miss Foster, I implore you to sit."

It was strange how he suddenly had such patience when he would have slapped her a couple days earlier.

"I implore _you_ to get the Hell off of my planet," She snapped, knowing what she saw on the television. "Can't you see that everywhere you go you bring death and destruction?"

"I have done no such thing. It is you Midgardians who are the chaos. You humans have forced my hand."

"Forced your hand?" She repeated. "You're still sitting across from me, perfectly intact while peoples' homes and families are being annihilated. What have we done to harm you?"

"I am a God, Jane."

"Haven't you ever heard of messing with someone your own size? What was the thought process there? Ruling Asgard didn't work out for you so you should go play with some defenseless other realm," she scoffed.

"If I had not come here, you would have destroyed yourselves, regardless. Your people have been destroying your own realm for hundreds of years with its industries. You have been killing each other off with grandiose weapons. Your people are chaotic and senseless who cannot separate fact from sentiment. This was all far before your realm was even a pin point on the map to the rest of the universe. You should be grateful I am here," He explained, his hands clawed over top of the table, growing ever more passionate with each sentence, more tense.

But, slowly, he inhaled and eased back, regaining his composure for her, if nothing else.

"Miss Foster, you are an intelligent woman," He continued before she could rebuke his comments. "You are aware of these issues, no doubt."

"But it's _our_ planet," She said evenly, looking from the table to him. "It's _our_ issues. An alien like yourself cannot simply waltz in, thinking everyone will immediately bow down to him, and then fix these problems and everything will be great. We have a variety of cultures, races, ethnic backgrounds… all of them are each very different. You cannot expect that they will all suddenly unite under one leader. This isn't Asgard," she scoffed, shaking her head. "Unless, of course, you want to make everyone like your 'servants.'" She considered that for a fleeting moment and then shook her head, remembering what Tony said before about Loki's desire for attention. He didn't get anything out of just controlling people. Otherwise, he would have turned her into them. He likes the fight. He gets off to it. He is the God of Chaos and Mischief, after all.

He seemed to be paying attention to her while her train of thought drifted off, which made her realize this was the first actual conversation they've ever had. While she spoke, he managed to lean back in his seat, casually, while still managing to keep up his imposing nature. His long fingers tapped at his chin.

"It has been a thought of mine," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders. "It would certainly make things easier."

It was her turn to laugh. She was right. "That's not what you want, though."

He frowned, "How might you know what it is I want? You know very little of me.

"I know you're the God of Mischief and Chaos," she pointed out, her finger trailing along the mahogany of the table thoughtlessly. "It'd be stupid to think that you'd want the rigidity and order of having complete control over all people. I think you like the challenge."

His lips curled into a strange smile – unique in the way that his eyes twinkled at her. It was different – he clearly was enjoying some part of this.

"An astute assumption, Miss Foster," He noted, his fingers tapping his chin thoughtfully, his hand balancing an apple that seemed to stay in place on his finger. "Perhaps there is more to you then I've wagered."

She blinked in surprise. "I'm sorry, did you just…" She shook her head. "Did you just say something nice about me?"

"Perhaps I do bore of having such morons surrounding me," He said, moving to sit closer toward her. "Perhaps I long for such intelligent bicker. It is the _game_ I enjoy, after all, and you, Miss Foster," He laughed, shaking his head, "You are quite the game piece." His eyes met hers for a long time, the twinkle dying down as they became quite serious. She wasn't even sure if he was just playing with her right now or not – after all, he just admitted she was his lab rat.

The connection broke as her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"So this is a game?"

"Hmm," he said lazily, suddenly shifting back in his seat, squaring his shoulders. "It is merely speculation. I've said before, you are an intelligent woman. It would be an impeccably ill-conceived notion that I could privy you to my plans and desires."

"Hmm," She mimicked, sitting more comfortably in her chair. "And the equation continues," she muttered under her breath.

"That it does, Miss Foster."

She frowned. She despised the fact that she was stuck with him – a man who could go from rampaging and insane to thoughtful and witty in the span of less than twenty-four hours. What did he want?

"You're thinking," he noted aloud. She perked up, her blood running to her ears as she noticed he was watching her this entire time. She hated that, too. His eyes were always watching, always scheming. He was learning, it seemed. Learning everything he could about her so he could more effectively control her. "What is it that has tossed the great Jane Foster into silence?"

"You're an intelligent man," Jane said, mocking what he said earlier. "I would be stupid to tell you."

"Fair enough," he said, smirking in amusement once more.

Then again, his amusement might be her redeeming factor. If he grew bored of her…

Well, she could just hope that doesn't happen often.

Loki sat in silence this time, his fingers tapping the table. His eyes were distant now, away from her. It was his turn to inspire curiosity.

"The great God of mischief sits in silence," she noted, smirking at her own mimicry, "Why?"

He shook his head before wiping his mouth and setting the core of the apple he was eating onto the small plate in front of him, dismissing her words instantly.

"I thank you for joining me this morning, Jane," he said, bowing his head before rising from his seat and swiftly leaving the apartment without another word.

"Oh…" She said as the door slammed behind him, "Okay, then…"

And just like that, he was in another mood.

Though it was odd how fast he left her, she was relieved and glad she might only have to deal with him in small portions as he dealt with whatever he needed to in… well, conquering her world.

She attempted to find a book in the small library he had but only found works that she was not particularly fond of – Ernest Hemingway, Mark Twain, Dickens... She only found herself drifting off and thinking about what she saw on the news the night prior. She couldn't get the images out of her head. She couldn't just normalize this way of living and continue to be passive in the face of his wrongs.

She had to _do_ something, she just didn't know what, exactly.

She went to take a shower, feeling like if she needed a place to think, it would most certainly be there.

He said she could go within a mile radius of this apartment. However, she did not know the geography of the city well enough to know what a mile might entail. It was most likely only residential living and small grocery stores and the occasional restaurant. Nothing of great importance. And what would happen if she breached that limit?

Jane knew she would just have to find out.

She changed into her last clean outfit that was in her duffel bag, wondering if she could find some sort of washing machine so she wouldn't have to wear the clothes Loki gave her. Though they were nice, wearing them just seemed to be like giving in to her.

After she successfully made herself look more alive, she sat next to the windows that revealed the city below. She could see people walking about and a couple of store fronts. There wasn't much of use. She knew that people might even recognize her face considering she has now been seen with Loki. Her stomach turned in anxiety. What if someone recognized her?

She wondered if it was cold outside. It was nearly fall so perhaps a scarf would not be too out of touch. She went through the pile of clothes she managed to throw onto the floor, knowing she saw a scarf somewhere. It was light and small, but it would do to cover her face.

She silently hoped that there would not be any press waiting around from when Loki left for his meetings. If that were the case she was doomed. She put her own tennis shoes on. With some hesitation, she left the apartment under the steady eye of one of Loki's people who seemed to be his maid. She paused for a second. Perhaps… perhaps she wasn't under Loki's influence.

"Hey," she called from across the living room, curious.

The lady's head perked up. She was of Spanish descent, it seemed, as she was tan with black curly hair wrestled into a messy pony tail. Jane's eyes brightened in hope.

"Are you… are you normal?" She asked, knowing it was a strange question and walked closer to her. Her eyes were not a striking shade of blue like the rest of them.

"…Yes," the lady said back hesitantly, but seemed shocked to see her.

"Oh thank God," She said, relieved.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Miss, but I have been instructed not to talk to you," She said quietly, looking around her as if to make sure that Loki wasn't around.

 _Of course_ _she wasn't_ , Jane thought to herself, rolling her eyes. Loki really wanted to isolate her as much as possible.

"He doesn't have to know," Jane said, frowning.

The lady only shook her head again and continued to clean off the table.

"Worth a shot," Jane muttered to herself before putting on her jacket and scarf and left the apartment as well.

She wished she had her satellite phone on her so she might find out exactly how far a mile might be as she wasn't quite sure what would happen if she went over the line. Would the bracelet hurt her? Like a shock collar? Her fingers touched over it as she rode the elevator down, feeling the rune engraved on the emerald stone and shuddered. This thing was a leash. He'd pull on it if she went too far…

She left through the doors of the apartment building, seeing that it was slightly warmer than what she dressed for but it didn't stop her from not wanting to be recognized. There were people walking about on the street and so far none of them paid attention to her.

She just started walking, knowing she had no designated place to go outside of just testing her limits. The people were very quiet on the street. The only noises around the city were the sirens going off a couple blocks down.

She saw that there was even a park she could run through that was a block away in the case that she started to exercise. Walking was strenuous enough on her legs. She couldn't just stay weak while she was in Loki's custody. She had to have some sort of strength.

She saw the televisions inside of one of the open bars along her stroll showing footage from what looked to be Loki meeting with the president of the United States along with a couple of other congressmen and leaders from Canada and Mexico.

The footage went away and the news then went to speculation. Her face popped up on screen. The headline read "Jane Foster the name of Loki's new escort." Her stomach dropped. "Jane Foster, an astrophysicist, originally born in California, could be the mind behind Lord Loki's attacks. While everything has been kept hidden as of late, reports show that Jane Foster has had ties to Thor and could be aiding in the effort for Loki-" Jane walked away from the bar quickly, not wanting to hear another word.

She couldn't just sit here and be passive anymore. She had to think of a plan.

She needed to get in contact with SHIELD, somehow and make sure they know she isn't helping him, that she isn't actually under Loki's control. She needed to make sure Thor knew she was okay. She knew Loki had her phone, or even had some way of communicating with people. He had to. If he was trying to communicate effectively with humans, he'd have to use technology of some sort.

She walked around the block, trying to ease her nerves and think about what she could possibly do and finally resorted in coming back to the apartment. She would have to find her phone while he was gone or somehow convince him to give it back. She doubted the latter would work but it was worth a try if she couldn't find it.

She walked about the apartment, looking in every room to see what, exactly, was here. There was a kitchen of immense proportions within one of the rooms. It looked as though it could cater to a restaurant, almost. She knew he wouldn't of hid her phone there.

She then walked about trying to find the bedroom he must be occupying. There was another bathroom she had not seen before, that was not full – simply a sink and a toilet which looked essentially untouched. At the end of the hallway was a door that she had not seen yet. She went to touch the handle and it burned… Loki's room. She pulled her hand back as if shocked. She grunted in impatience, kicking the door as if that might help. It hardly even made a budge.

She walked away, cursing under her breath. How would she even convince Loki to let her into his room? When could he possibly leave it unlocked? She doubted he would just leave it. She'd have to get in there with him… but how?

O-O-O-O-O

Between meetings, Loki checked in on Jane's whereabouts. He could sense leaving her alone with all of that freedom might entice her to try her boundaries. But, to his surprise, he found she had only circled the block before finally returning to the apartment. Perhaps she was scared of what might happen to her if she left the mile radius that he allowed her. Still, he doubted Jane would have stopped at that, regardless of how frightened she might be.

Or, perhaps she ran into people who recognized her as his. He might not even need to worry about her trying to escape after all.

When he finally returned back to the apartment, he found her sitting there, reading a book in the living room as if waiting for him to come back. He moved to sit across from her, eying the book she had in her hands.

"What have you found?" He asked. She seemed startled as her eyes darted up to him.

"Jeez, could you give me a heads up next time?" She asked. So he did scare her. He grinned.

"I do apologize. I thought you might have heard me."

"I didn't."

"I apologize," he repeated, smirking. "It is quite late. Should you not be tired from your little stroll?"

She made a face, realizing he knew exactly where she went. Good.

"It wasn't that long of a stroll. Just needed fresh air."

"I see."

"Sitting around also doesn't wear me out. I need something to do," She said.

"Ah, I have plenty of things for you to do. Perhaps you could help out your dear Erik Selvig. He has been working on several projects," he offered. She made another face as he mentioned Erik's name. "I hadn't an idea he was so very talkative. He spoke a lot about you today."

Yes, he did ask Erik a lot of questions in regards to Jane after he stopped by. He needed to see the tesseract, he needed to know it was still heavily guarded… And he was curious, if anything. But perhaps, it was more than Jane would have liked him to know…

He sat down across from her, crossing his knees as he watched from afar.

Her face dropped and then paled.

"What do you mean?" She asked, panicked.

"Worry not, it is nothing but good things," he said, waving it off.

"What did he say?" She pressed, disregarding what he said in her panic.

He swallowed back the annoyance that he felt – the immediate jolt of impatience he had whenever she acted in such a way. It wasn't like him to be so very frustrated all the time, but he supposed it came with the task of conquering.

He forced his face into a neutral calmness as he cleared his throat. "If you would please sit back down, Jane, we have no need to fight about this."

She widened her eyes at his tone – he might as well of been yelling at her by the look of total disdain in her eyes. No, it would seem nothing he could do would calm her.

"Stop!" She screamed in agitation. "Just stop! One moment you're literally slapping me and pushing me around and _threatening to rape_ me and the next you're… you're all polite!" She grunted and it reminded him of a petulant child. "I know you're just playing with me! I'm not stupid."

He waited for her to finish, and he almost opened his mouth to reply, but she seemed to have one more thing left to say.

"I know you've hurt him," she looked as if she was about to cry. Again. He hated it when women cried – he never really knew what to do. Especially if he was the cause of it.

"I'm lying?" he asked dramatically, as if aghast.

Her cheeks reddened with either anger or tears, he could not tell.

"I'm not stupid!" She spat.

"My thousand years of being royalty in the highest realm of Yggdrasil does not qualify me for having manners?" He asked lazily.

She was fuming. How fun she was! He had so many buttons to press and so little time. Perhaps she will learn one day not to be so easy.

"Are you finished arguing with me or can we move on from this topic?"

He stood to pick up the book that she was reading that she managed to drop. He bent to retrieve it offering it to her as he glanced at it. She was reading one of the novels he read quite a while ago - _A Tale of Two Cities_ by Charles Dickens. She did not strike him as a Charles Dickens fan, but clearly he still had a lot of learning to do about her.

She eyed the book he offered to her, her feet dragging her away from him.

She seemed to be frozen there, and in reaction, so was he. He chewed the inside of his lip as he tried to read through her, but there was nothing.

Slowly, she melted. She took the book quickly, like a scared animal might take food, continuing to say nothing.

He inhaled slowly through his nose as she lingered, seemingly not sure if she wanted to leave the room or not.

"I have no intentions of harming Dr. Selvig. He is a great asset of mine just as you are."

"But you won't let him go, either… You're just using him…"

Her lip was trembling. He wasn't going to lie to her.

"I will not, no."

That was when she started to cry. He looked away, suddenly feeling like he was being almost too intrusive.

He heard her fall to the floor. He understood why she was so upset.

He managed to get some answers out of Erik – he knew now that Jane had lost her family a long time ago and Dr. Selvig had taken their place. He taught her everything she knew about the stars – inspiring her to continue her education and earn her doctorate. They were incredibly close. Jane was, in most definitions of the word, Selvig's daughter.

There was a feeling – a prickle at the base of his neck. His eyes darted to Jane's crumpled form and immediately traveled away.

"I hate you," she murmured through her hands, hiding her face.

It wasn't the first time she's said such a thing. It certainly wouldn't be her last, either. But somehow, this time it lingered in the air. His hands fumbled with the fabric of his tunic.

"I'm aware," he noted. He contemplated leaving her alone. He did not think he was going to be able to console her. "Goodnight, Jane," he said quietly before turning to walk to his room.

"Wait," she called after him, sniffling. "What did he tell you?"

He did not turn around fully, just to look back over his shoulder.

"Apparently we are much more alike than I had anticipated."


	6. Chapter 6

Loki left Jane on the floor.

He knew there wasn't much he could say to remove her from such a position or feeling, so he did not interfere. He was rarely one to comfort, if ever.

He listened to her sob for what felt like hours while he lay in his room, his hands toying with some silly trick of light to keep his mind occupied but he simply could not seem to remain so.

Perhaps he should soundproof his room. It required far more energy than it was worth, but it would allow him to sleep without telling her to go to her room to cry. Somehow, that was beneath even him.

He remembers such a feeling well – often he pushes it to the back recesses of his mind only to be painfully recalled when coincidences occurred. And, well, this happened to be one of them.

His former wife would cry just as Jane would outside his door… Bemoaning her fate.

Sigyn…

He remembered the long night that was after the morning of his two twin sons' births.

He believed that giving her a child would make her feel more invested in the marriage that they shared. It was a naïve thought that perhaps she would grow to despise him a little less and bring her attentions to their children rather than her hatred of him. However, Loki knew he was not meant to be a father by any means. She was raised with the desire to mother children and have a prosperous family and marriage. It was something she talked about frequently in their youth back before she was engaged to that _man_.

When she found she was pregnant, it was the happiest he had ever seen her since before they were married. The healer spoke to her not too long after conception and she nearly danced into their chambers announcing the wonderful news and embraced him, and for three beautiful seasons, they were the couple that Loki always wanted to be.

When it was time for his sons to be born, Sigyn prepared herself daily reading volumes upon volumes of motherhood books, purchasing everything that could possibly be needed within the first seasons of their births. Loki was never too invested, but the fact that Sigyn was pleased and occupied made him happy.

The day came and the healers were all prepared for the births of the prince and princess' children. The people of Asgard excitedly waited for their arrival, regardless of their opinion on Loki and his marriage, especially because they were to be twins – a rarity, and what most of the Vanir like Sigyn would consider to be a blessing.

There were feasts in order. Decorations filling the palace in celebration of he and Sigyn…

No one could have guessed the horror that exited Sigyn's womb.

Loki certainly did not.

He remembered the moment he laid eyes upon the grotesque creatures the healers held in their hands. Dead, motionless, blue…

Upon sight, Sigyn fainted.

Loki confronted the healers his wife met with weekly.

"You told her they were healthy," He spat repeatedly in their faces.

He went to his mother asking for guidance constantly, as Sigyn would never leave her bed. She came to comfort her to coax her out of the state she was in. He pleaded with her nightly to come back to him. The Asgardian people shunned him once more, thinking him cursed for causing her to conceive stillborn twins. He felt as though they already knew he was cursed before he realized it himself.

She cried for weeks. He spent nights in his library when she wanted nothing to do with him so he might no longer hear her constant sobs. He buffered the sound to their room so he would no longer have to hear her cries.

She despised him. She despised her life with him. She would have nothing to do with him.

When she stopped crying, Loki found her dead.

Such a sight will never escape his memory – he remembers pushing open the door to their room to find her dead body sprawled out on the bed they shared many a night. Her face pale and her lips blue. His beautiful wife would sooner kill herself than live a life with him.

Loki cradled her – trying to find some sort of signal of life desperately, knowing he would find none.

After that, it was a blur. He couldn't remember what occurred next.

He just remembered Thanos would use that memory against him when he fell into the abyss. The constant reminder that he was not welcome back to Asgard. A reminder of…

He shook his head. It mattered not. _This_ was his life now. This was his purpose. He could make something of this. He could be successful, admired, adored. He would make this realm great and he would be the cause of it.

It suddenly puzzled him why he was thinking of this memory when he heard Jane's shuffling in the next room as she slammed the door shut.

Finally, peace. He shut his eyes, hopeful to find rest.

Why did he care of this girl? If she killed herself, he could take credit for it and finally give Thor the revenge he deserved, he thought bitterly.

However, as fate would have it, he did not get the sleep he desired that night – the needs across the world pulling his entity this way and that. It was a thankless, restless task…

But perhaps, amends should be made one way or another.

The following morning, Loki came to Jane's door once more to request breakfast though he knew she would decline.

To his relief, she was still in there as he could hear her shuffling about on her bed. Not dead - just ignoring him. It was to be expected. He breathed out the breath he didn't think he was holding.

He scribbled a note on a paper and stuck it under her door asking for her accompaniment to a dinner that night with some of her former country's new leaders. Though, he was most certainly not asking, he thought it would be polite even so.

He left without another word.

O-O-O-O-O-O-O

Jane awoke to Loki's knocking on the door. She groaned as she heard his stupid voice imploring her to answer but only rolled back onto her side facing away from the door. He could barge in if he wanted, but she was not going to budge.

She heard shuffling for a couple of minutes, footsteps, and then the piece of paper slid under the door.

 _Miss Foster,_

 _Tonight, I am having dinner with the leaders of your former country. I would very much like it if you would do me the honor, I would be delighted to have your accompaniment. I shall fetch you at five o'clock._

 _-Lord Loki_

She grimaced and tore the paper into shreds, throwing it into the small trash bin and stared at them in disgust.

A dinner? With politicians who have bowed down to Loki after all that he's done? Her stomach felt queasy at the very thought. She was never a diplomat of any sort nor would she ever have appropriate conversation with people she felt were traitors to their world.

She thought of Darcy, wondering what she might think of this. Darcy, the loudmouth would probably have none of it, either, regardless of what conversation might arise. A pang of sadness swept over her. She had no idea where Darcy was or even if she was okay.

She thought back to the last day they spent together before Loki made an appearance on her planet.

" _Jane?"_

" _Yes?"_

" _What's going to happen to you?"_

" _They just said there was research in Tromso and it was imperative I would attend. They found more anomalies – perhaps another landing spot for the Einstein Rosen Bridge?"_

 _Jane knew it was bullshit. There was something they weren't going to tell her but if she didn't acquiesce then she was risking years of her research and notoriety. She couldn't afford to say no._

" _And you believe them?"_

 _She cleared her throat, leaning back in the cheap lawn chair they kept on the roof to drink and for Jane to ponder. The expanse of the universe swept out before her but there was no way for her to reach out and…_

" _I don't believe them, no," Jane answered after a long while, her thoughts scattering into an array. She longed for Thor. She longed for his protection, his clarity. They wouldn't bully her if he was here… The feminist side of her raged against such a need, but when she was venturing out into such discomfort with a sketchy government agency, she clung to whatever she could and Darcy could tell._

 _Darcy was suddenly sitting next to her._

 _She turned and grabbed her hand, her brows furrowing in sincerity – a rare occurrence._

" _Jane. Whatever it is that they need from you – promise me you're going to fight them if you have to. Promise me that… that you're going to collect yourself. I hate to say it, Jane, but Thor might not be coming back at this point. Something's up with them. It's been a month since we've heard from Erik…"_

 _Jane's eyes searched Darcy's face, searching for the joke in her words, but could find nothing but a worry that would only be found in her closest friends._

" _I promise," Jane assured, nodding before pulling Darcy into a hug. "I'm betting Erik's right there. Waiting for me with research."_

" _I hope so…" Darcy said, nodding. "Also promise me that if you stumble upon another hot alien guy that you help a bitch out."_

 _Jane laughed, nudging Darcy with her shoulder._

" _I'll have you on speed dial."_

Erik wasn't in Tromso. They wouldn't tell her where he was, just that the information was sensitive and will inform her when they figure it out.

Darcy went back to her college.

Her world turned upside down and Jane was unfathomably alone.

And as Jane would go, she threw herself into her work – tracking atmospheric anomalies with her newly developed technology. The energy signatures of Loki's portals helped the first lines of defense in the initial invasion, but it was when there were far too many of them that things went awry.

When the Avengers lost the battle of New York, the world panicked and Jane seemed to disappear into herself – all that mattered was when she was going to eat again, when she was going to see her makeshift family again… and when was Thor going to finally get to her.

She remembered when she was told that Loki was searching for her. She was being hunted – all the while she was being promised that they would do everything in their power to keep her safe…

She clung to a naïve hope that perhaps Darcy was out there somewhere – that no battle had touched her college town and she carried on life just as the people of DC were.

There was a drive within her after last night that was not there before.

Something had to make Loki trust her.

It was a simpler task than, say, her trusting him. But perhaps, if he truly felt as though she was being subservient then she could play him at his own game.

She remembered the way that he looked at her the night before, watching her as she had a meltdown and wondered what, exactly, he knew about her that would amass such a sudden softening if he truly wasn't acting.

And what would make anyone, especially Loki, trust her?

She was not an actress. There was no way this could be anything but genuine, especially when it came to Loki, who read through her like a book.

She would have to go to the dinner tonight and not try to cause a scene with any of the politicians. She would have to sit through whatever point Loki was trying to make and accept it as what is so. Loki might even continue to find her amusing, like an owner might find their dog to be.

Jane went into the closet, seeing if there were any dresses that would be remotely flattering, yet modest. She did not want to look like Loki's whore, as that was probably what they already assumed of her.

There was a couple she tried on before finally settling on a dark blue dress. It had a layer of shear black fabric over the entirety of it, its sleeves lowered about her shoulders, revealing her collar bone. The rest, though relatively figure-hugging in the bodice, the skirt fanned out, going down just past her knees.

She looked in the mirror when she was finished wrestling with it. She had not looked this dressed up in months, if not years. She couldn't even remember the last time she wasn't wearing jeans of her own volition.

She went to the bathroom, looking for any sort of cosmetics and was only slightly bothered to find that there was, indeed, a makeup kit. For the sake of her sanity, she took no time in thinking about how that even came to be in her room, but moved on and looked through what there was. It took her a while to figure out what everything was as she could not remember the last time she wore, makeup, either. There were very few to impress as of late.

Not having much experience in doing her hair, she only wrapped it into the ballet bun she remembered from her childhood. She wrestled with it until it finally looked neat

The knock on her door made her stomach drop, nearly causing her to drop her hairbrush. Was it 5 o'clock already?

"Miss Foster, King Loki instructed me to ensure you have the proper attire for tonight's dinner," A female voice said from behind the door. Perhaps it was the lady that had been cleaning up the table the day before? She wondered quickly what happened to Miss Andersen. Perhaps she was off somewhere else doing Loki's bidding? Or something much worse..,

She walked over and opened up the door to see that her assumptions were correct.

"Oh! Uhm, I see you're already ready. He'd be pleased," She said, stunned to see that Jane was there and quickly answering the door.

Jane swallowed. This was it. This was her chance.

"Yeah," she said nonchalantly, wondering if Loki was already back from whatever he was doing today and could hear them. "Can you… uhm, come in here? I was wondering where the blow dryer was and I cannot seem to find it."

She looked nervously to the side but only nodded as she walked into her room.

"I thought I put it underneath the sink but I could be wrong," she said, shutting the door behind her.

Jane moved to her old duffel bag quickly, finding her pen and paper that she had scribbled on for the past many nights to keep herself from going insane. She tore off a sheet and moved to the desk to

"Oh, I'm sorry, I never looked there," she said, as she moved, knowing there was an entire possibility that Loki was listening in.

 _Would you find my phone for me? It should be somewhere around here, but I'm pretty sure it's in his room somewhere since it's locked. Do you clean his room?_

"Thank you," she said, handing her the sheet of paper and the pen for her reply.

 _I do clean it. But, I don't know about that._

 _Please? If he finds out, I'll take whatever punishment it is he's threatened you with._

 _No. I can't make you suffer for me. I don't even know you._

 _I can't just sit around anymore. I need to find a way out and my phone is the only way. There's nothing for me to lose. I'll take whatever comes my way._

"Miss Warren?" Loki's voice was heard coming through the living room and her head perked up.

"Yes, my King," She called out, nodding to Jane, but Jane was entirely unsure of what to make of the nod she dashed out of the room without saying anything more. She could only hope…

She went to her closet and pulled out the pair of flats she was wanting to wear, knowing if she picked any other shoe she would run the risk of embarrassing herself even more.

"Miss Foster?!" Loki called out. Jane took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart.

This was going to be okay. She would just nod and smile to anyone. She'd be what Loki wanted. Just as long as she could get her hands on that phone…

Loki appeared at her doorway, once more clad in another designer suit, this one black with a dark green tie. He looked over her, his eyes starting from her black flats through her dark blue dress and then, lastly her face, appraising her. First, he seemed stunned, as if he did not expect her compliance immediately. Second, disappointment. As if he had what he wanted but now he didn't know why he wanted it in the first place.

"I'm ready," She said, her hands wrestling with themselves behind her back.

O-O-O-O-O-O

He expected argument, for her to be lying in bed without any hope of moving. He expected he would have had to control her this evening in order for her to comply after her little spat the night prior. However, none of that seemed to be the case.

She looked nothing like the ragged woman who he first met – the plain-faced, boyish, tiny and weak mortal woman who had no beauty of note, who stunned him that Thor even remotely laid eyes on her. No, whether it be the dress or the confidence she exuded in front of him, she was most certainly not the same woman.

His lips parted to immediately say something but he only stared at her dumbly.

It became very clear that this was discomforting for the both of them. Just as Jane's brows were beginning to furrow, he opened his mouth to speak, immediately hiding his initial reaction.

"Very good," he said before bowing, offering out his hand, his other arm moving to fold behind his back, as it was traditional when a lord might greet a lady in the halls of Asgard.

When his offer went untouched, he peered up from his bow, to see her staring at him in what looked to be disbelief, her lips agape with her arms crossed across her chest. He slowly rose back up from his bow, looking over her once more. He was slightly embarrassed – why he thought Jane would act accordingly was beyond him.

"I do not bite," he insisted, smirking a little – only hiding his embarrassment at her rejection, his hand still outstretched to her.

She continued to look at him oddly, but resolutely seemed to decide that his statement was true.

She reached out for him, her hand lightly touching his, the bracelet a mark of his ownership on her wrist. He then wrapped his larger hand around hers and pulled her toward him easily, to which she began to rebel, tensing in his grasp.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Brace yourself," He encouraged in her ear as she began to squirm, "I am about to cast us out of the building. We are running quite late," he instructed before placing the both of them in front of the building and before the vehicle the mortals called a limousine. She wobbled slightly, nearly falling into him. He caught her forearm and guided her into the door before they would receive any public attention.

"What just happened?" She asked as the driver shut the door behind them, her face pale, her eyes bright and excited, but terrified at the same time.

It amused him. He could tell she was amazed – he couldn't remember the last time someone was so amazed at his magic.

"Whatever do you mean?" He asked, prodding for her praise.

"What you just did! How… how?" She asked, the scientist in her begging to be brought out.

"Miss Foster, I am a sorcerer-"

"Well, yeah…" She shook her head. "But then why do you… why are we taking a limousine if you can do _that_?"

"If I made you travel great distances with me, you would be quite… ah, disoriented or even nauseous. You nearly fell over just now. Regardless, mortals are quite put off by my ability to appear anywhere I desire so I do try to minimalize my use of it, especially to such a formal occasion," he explained.

"Right," She said, nonchalantly, slowly sliding back into her seat, seeming to contemplate everything she just saw and it amused him.

He watched the way her lips pressed together and curled over when she was thinking, how her eyes were not here in this limousine, but rather, intuitively thinking, her eyes looking at his hands as if they were some sort of enigma.

He turned his head to look out the opposite window. He ignored the way his heart seemed to pause – how he suddenly wished to indulge her curiosity simply to satisfy his need to be recognized. It was silly.

"Can I ask you something?" She said suddenly after he had already looked away.

"Since when did you decide you needed my permission before asking anything?" he asked, amused. "If I don't recall, Jane Foster has done what she wants.

Jane grimaced.

"Well, you haven't answered truthfully so far, and you also seem to find roundabout ways to answer my questions so maybe if I asked you'd answer."

"I see," He smirked at her, leaning back into his seat comfortably as the vehicle drove on. "I may not answer regardless if it is something I do not believe you should know."

"I know… Okay, fine, whatever," She shook her head.

He hummed in annoyance at her attitude. "Out with it, Miss Foster. We do not have a very long way to go," He pressed her, impatient.

"You haven't seemed to care what humans have thought of you when you rode in with an alien army. Why do you want to seem more human now?"

He narrowed his eyes, tilting his head to the side at her question. "What makes you believe I want to seem more human?"

"Why wouldn't you just teleport everywhere and use your magic all the time?"

"Hmm," he sounded, his fingers prodded at the callouses that lined his hands, hundreds of years in the making, "I have studied the characteristics of your leaders throughout your history, as well as spent hundreds of years perfecting and studying what it might be to rule a realm of any sort. It would seem that the people long for a leader that seem more like themselves, though strong and bold enough to fight for them where they cannot," he explained, eying her expression.

"Except that you're very obviously _not_ like us. You came here via a portal – some doorway in another part of the universe. Your armies travel the same route. Your armies, mind you, are _not_ human," she countered.

"I intend on being here longer than your generation is alive. Familiarity trumps logic – any being who has grown knowing a certain fact about their life for the entirety of their life will not begin to question just how that fact has gotten there. In time, my existence will be commonplace."

She frowned, obviously not liking the answer he offered.

"No one will forget the amount of violence you have caused – the cities you've ruined."

"I find it quite intriguing you would say such a thing when is it not true – within this former country, of course – your ancestors decimated the population who lived here before you with rape, war, disease… Every single one of those who are in power – not just on Midgard, but throughout the history of the universe did not get there by asking nicely," He scoffed, shaking his head.

She seemed dazed, her gaze was drawn inward as he explained his thinking to her. She opened her mouth to say something more but then shut it.

"Have I befuddled Dr. Jane Foster into silence, at last?" He asked, chuckling as he tilted his head. It was apparent she had no refutable argument.

He waited for her to say something more, but she merely looked out the window, so, he continued.

"That is why I am bringing you tonight, Jane. I wish for you to see I do not have any intention of destroying this realm, though, it is necessary to conquer before ruling. I am nearing the end of the former so it has come to my attention I need counsel of sorts. And that is who you shall be meeting at dinner."

"Why would you care about my opinion?" She asked.

He smirked, not answering her and she made a disgruntled noise, annoyed with him. She seemed to hate not knowing – and it was purely for that reason he remained silent.

She resigned, looking down to her hands, seeming to be at a loss for words. It most certainly didn't seem to be the answer she expected. She was silent for the rest of the ride. He looked over to her periodically, studying her.

Jane Foster was intriguing, he thought. He could allow himself that much. And, he believed, she was intrigued with him, which managed to make her that much more tolerable.

The vehicle slowly came to a stop in front of the mansion and he looked over to her, a smile on his thin lips.

"Shall we?"


	7. Chapter 7

Jane stepped out to see a mansion – though it did not have sprawling land, as they were still in the middle of a city, it had flags perched throughout the grounds. Perhaps diplomats were housed here at some point, considering the surrounding homes along the road had flags from all different countries – embassies, perhaps. She doubted they remained and fled to their home country.

The garden that lined the exterior of the mansion was quaint, but beautiful, with shrubbery and rose bushes – obviously still tended to by the owners of the mansion.

Her attentions was peeled away by Loki's outstretched arm that he was patiently waiting for her to take. She knew this was another act – just as it was before they left his apartment. He wasn't being a gentleman for her, he was

"Jane," He muttered, though it was not originally intended to be threatening, but Jane has spent enough time with Loki to know that following that sort of tone he would use a threat. He wanted her to play a part she wasn't willing to play. "There is no need to be difficult," Loki said under his breath, only intended for her ears if there was any chance that his driver would overhear him.

"There is plenty of need," she bit back, "I'm not your escort to be paraded around on your arm." Her fear dissipated last night. What more could he do to her?

He heaved in a deep, long-suffering sigh and slowly dropped his arm at his side, which surprised her. She never thought he'd relent, but she supposed if he wanted to look good, she would have to be sated.

His eyes rolled back, looking as if he was trying to control his own temper, before he moved to look at her straight-on. He then offered only his hand, bowing at the waist, making her think of Darcy and Elizabeth, though this was far from the romantic tale she would ever dream of. And it was Loki, so romantic notions went right out the window.

"May I?" He asked, bowing his head slightly, his eyes closing, looking painstaking as he waited for the possibility of rejection.

He never asked for permission. She eyed his hand and then his bowed head, half expecting him to fall out from this possible charade and just grab her hand anyway. That did not happen.

She supposed if he was going to be overly polite about it, she might as well reward such behavior. She placed her hand into his slightly cold and calloused hand, though it was smooth nonetheless. He looked up, as though surprised, his brow slightly raised as he rose back to his original height, that self-satisfied smirk only ghosting over his lips, knowing if he showed otherwise she would most likely back away once more.

He led the way to the door of the mansion where what looked to be a butler, who had quite a neutral face, opened the door for them. Men were standing about the foyer, some holding glasses of champagne, talking in hushed voices. Their wives were accompanying them, passing about questioning looks. Immediately, they stopped all together the moment that Loki and Jane walked in to the mansion.

"Greetings," Loki said, dropping Jane's hand. The amount of odd looks she received from the wives of the men, and the men themselves made her want to melt into the earth at her feet. She shifted away from him given the chance.

She could feel her blood rushing up into her ears, her nerves like fluttering butterflies in her stomach in a sort of uproar that made her want to puke all contents from her stomach out.

She didn't pay attention to whatever Loki said to greet them, the men just clapped, acknowledging something he said, and then they all herded to a large dinner table. She followed Loki like she might of followed her parents in a crowd of people she wouldn't know, using him like a shield from the kind of attention she was receiving. He should have been the most interesting person in the room. He wasn't any longer.

She was offered champagne, which she gladly took and nearly inhaled before she sat down next to Loki, who chattered on about some sort of issue in the economy with one of the older men as they all were situated around a table.

These people were not under any sort of influence, she noted. Their eyes were normal and they freely spoke. And though there was a stifling sort of hesitation in the air, they almost looked glad to be here, to be recognized by Loki, of all people, regardless of the fact he is most definitely a murderer. It felt almost normal. Normal, as in, she would have never attended some sort of event such as this in any other situation, but if she had, this is how she would imagine it should go. It startled her as well as unnerved her. How dare these people not be shooting a bullet into this man's skull?

However, as the meeting went on and they chattered about at dinner time, things began to make sense why these people were so at peace. There were plans in place for the Earth to be cleaned up, rid of any traces of war, and begin again. Sanctions for companies to not pollute oceans and their lands. Peace among the middle east. Food for the poor. Health care for everyone and promises to further health care. These were not empty promises, either, as they were planned with people in place that Loki has sanctioned to further such actions within this country and around the world.

This had to be an act. This had to be _something_. But these people were former senators and congressmen all the way from places such as California and Texas. There were diplomats among them, negotiators. Now that the majority of the world has surrendered, there were few talks of battle.

Jane was befuddled. For someone so ruthless and cold, perhaps Loki _did_ truly want to help them. Perhaps he was not lying to her. She looked over to him every so often.

Loki was rarely paying much attention to her, only for him to offer her a type of food she might not have tried before, or pour her another glass of dinner wine.

"How long have you been with Loki?" A woman who was most likely the wife of the man who sat closest to Loki, a former Senator of Florida asked her.

She nearly choked on her food.

"I'm not _with_ Loki," She said, coughing, her face flushing immediately. The blood pumped in her ears so loudly that she wasn't even sure what she heard next from the woman.

"I heard –"

"What you heard on the news is bullshit," She muttered, not caring so much for proper language. Her anger at Loki for even exposing her to the public in such a way was getting the best of her. "I am his _hostage_. We have no romantic affiliation."

She looked concerned, her brow furrowing together. She was a beautiful lady. She seemed to have aged rather gracefully, her blond hair pulled back into a tight bun. She had the kind face of a mother though she was diplomatic, and very clearly a politician's wife.

"I do apologize," she murmured, looking down and away. "I did not mean to offend you."

"It's fine," Jane said, shaking her head and she shuttered a little bit when Loki glanced over to check on her. The lady smiled at him and he turned back around and she immediately dropped the façade.

"It's an appropriate assumption, though it's not right. I'm an astrophysicist who happened to have contact with his brother, Thor. I was hidden away so Loki might not find me but he did, anyway. I've been with him for nearly three weeks. I don't know his plans," she explained quietly, her voice only going above a whisper.

She didn't know if this would help or hinder her situation at all, but she felt as though she should tell someone. Least of all, someone who is close to those who are somehow helping Loki.

"I'm sorry… I-I cannot help you," she murmured, looking as though she was about to cry.

Jane felt that way too. She opened her mouth to say something more, to tell her that Loki's hit her and locked her away. That Loki's the reason she nearly died. That he is controlling the man who she holds very dearly, like her father, that he threatened to rape her and kill him. She wanted to say all of it. She just wanted to say _something_. But she shut her mouth.

The logical part of her mind reasoned that telling this lady would not be so beneficial and could easily come back to bite her on the butt. She had to contact SHIELD. She doubted the woman sitting next to her had any idea what SHIELD even was.

"It's okay," Jane assured her, "He hasn't hurt me." She lied.

The lady looked over her, searching for any trace of a inconsistency, but Jane only nodded, giving a reassuring smile.

"I'll be okay," Jane continued.

She nodded and extended her hand. "I'm Lisa, by the way."

"Jane," Jane said, shaking her hand.

"It's a pleasure, Jane."

Loki shifted next to her, giving her hand that was on the table a gentle squeeze. She took her hand away, not wishing to play the part any more tonight, remembering what had passed and what continues to pass. Loki remains to be the villain. If not to the people in this room tonight, but to her and all those like her. Loki is unstable. Even if he had good intentions, he could never truly rule like he promises these people he would.

He stood up next to her, tapping his glass of champagne with a spoon. "My friends," he began, a smile working his way onto his features. "It is an honor to sit among you tonight as we furnish a world without any more war. Without hunger or starvation. With peace. You and your people shall remember these next days with a great amount of respect and dignity as it is you who have created this. We shall be victorious and dignified. I propose a toast, my friends – to this new world. Here, here," he said as he drank his champagne.

Jane imagined a scene from perhaps a book or even a movie where all those who toasted feel as though they were poisoned and die in their seats as the villain walks out of the building alone. She wouldn't have been remotely surprised if that was what followed Loki's toast. But there was no such thing. Just cheering. People were smiling. It had to be a false act. Something had to be up with this scene.

Jane was getting groggy from the amount of wine she was drinking as they finished up the dinner. She had barely anything to eat, save for a dinner roll she picked at, and the two glasses of wine she had were getting to her faster than anything.

"Tired, Jane?" She heard Loki speak next to her, looking back over his shoulder to her, a single brow raised. He stood up from the table and offered his hand. "Or inebriated?"

She flushed once more.

"Uhm," she began, not wishing to claim either out of embarrassment. She took his hand and she stood up from the table and wobbled a bit. "Both?"

He chuckled, wrapping an arm around her hip to support her. A more sober Jane would definitely have protested such advances, especially as he held her against him, supporting her weight as they moved back to the foyer. He sat her down onto one of the divans. She frowned when the world spun, but it gave the anxieties she once held leeway to not exist even for a little while.

"I shall return shortly. I must coordinate a couple more things and we shall be on our way."

She nodded once and watched as he walked back into the parlor. She didn't know how to feel. She wanted to hate him with every fiber of her being but he was making it harder at this point. She first assumed that he brought her with him to further the fact that she was actually his escort, to make him seem more human, to use her and broadcast her to them so that Thor might even see. Such was not the case. Not entirely, at least.

And as time usually is when Jane is partially inebriated, it moved fast. Loki was back within minutes, ready to escort her back to the apartment.

"You did not wish to eat anything?" Loki asked her as they stepped in to the limo.

"Why do you care?" Jane spat back at him.

"The food was quite good."

Jane could not even remember the food that was presented. Not really.

"Are you quite alright?" Loki asked pressingly when she had nothing to say, merely looking off through the window even though there was also nothing to see, considering it was night time. His brow furrowed even further and leaned forth.

She inhaled and exhaled evenly.

"Anxiety," She replied. "People…" She shook her head, rubbing the temples of her forehead. "The way they looked at me." She shook her head. "I'll be fine soon."

"Ah," Loki replied knowingly, nodding once before scooting back into his seat. "I understand."

"Yeah?" Jane asked, looking at him from the side of her eyes.

"Indeed."

"How?" She asked, frowning.

"I know what it is to have attention that you do not truly want, Jane," he said evenly, though making it obvious that he did not wish to elaborate by the way he said it. He shook his head once more. "I understand."

"Why do you care?" She spat suddenly. If he knew what it felt like, why would he force her through it? Why would he suddenly care about how she felt?

"I told you – we are quite similar, Jane. Whether you should want to believe it or not."

"Then why did you do that? Why did you bring me there? You know what they are thinking about me."

"You had to know. I do not have such nefarious plans for your world, Jane. I do mean to rule it, but I do not wish to have non-stop war. I wished to show you what could be possible out of my leadership," he pressed forth.

She frowned, having nothing to say to that. He laughed.

"You wish to see me only as the villain. It is understandable. But you are an intelligent woman, Miss Foster. I think you shall see things in my way very soon."

She said nothing, only crossed her arms across her chest. She didn't have the mind to debate with him in such a way.

"If you wish for food, I shall have the maid cook you something."

"Stop," she pressed angrily, hiccuping. "I can take care of myself drunk, thanks. I've done it plenty of times before."

He chuckled. "Very well."

"Why are you being all nice to me? One moment you're acting like a bag of dicks and the next you're trying to take care of me" – hiccup – "while I'm drunk. I'm getting" – hiccup – "whiplash."

He laughed, "Even if I had a reason, I wouldn't share it with you, Jane. We have had this discussion before."

"Well" – hiccup – "I still hate you."

"I know."

"Okay, good. As long as we're clear."

"I quite like inebriated Jane," He said, giving that damn smirk of his again. She hated it. She wanted to tear it off of his face. "Her spiteful words aren't so biting. It is quite, ah, cute."

"Did you just" – hiccup – "say I'm cute, damn it?"

"Perhaps I did," Loki continued.

"Get out."

"We are in a moving vehicle still, Jane. When we arrive, I will leave you alone."

"Good," was her brilliant comeback.

The rest of the ride was silent. Jane hiccupped to herself until they finally stopped in front of the building. The driver opened the door for them and Loki stepped out first, grabbing Jane's hand for the umpteenth time that night and led her back into the building. Though she was feeling less dizzy than she was before, she was still grateful for the stability he offered, lest she fall over and embarrass herself further.

"Goodnight, Miss Foster," He bid before she shut the door of her room.

O-O-O-O-O

 _He asks for your progress, little king,_ the Other tore through Loki's consciousness just as he turned away.

He tried his best not to cry out as the Other gripped into his mind so easily. It jarred him in such a way that he lost his balance, his arm reaching to catch him on the wall.

 _Tell him I am busy_ , Loki replied, his head reeling from the unforeseen intrusion – typically, he is more prepared, more guarded, but such was no longer the time.

 _He will not like such an answer. Perhaps you will need a reminder not to keep him waiting._

Images of being strung up, his arms tightened behind his back, his insides being torn into and rearranged, his mind being ripped to shreds until he would learn to properly speak to _him_.

He bit his tongue, restraining the sound that pummeled through his throat in retaliation as he used whatever he could within him to keep the memories from spilling into his physical being.

 _That will not be necessary,_ Loki replied. _Earth's forces are dwindling, their supplies are running low. I have made arrangements with diplomats and politicians in every country-_

And _zap_.

His body lurched forward, his balance set astray by the searing pain The Other tapped into.

 _The Tesseract, you fool._

Loki grunted in protest.

 _I am in need of its power. We had a deal. I would have Earth as my own and then when all is well, I will hand over the Tesseract to_ him _._

 _I cannot see it any longer. You are hiding it from us._

 _I am hiding it from others who wish to harness it or take it. It is necessary to keep it hidden until I can give it to_ him _._

Another jolt and Loki was on his knees in pain. He cradled his head in his hands in reflex.

 _If you are lying to us, little king… you will suffer._

Loki stifled his groans with his hands, knowing there was a real possibility Jane heard him.

His legs did not want to cooperate as he pushed himself to his feet.

"Loki?" A soft voice inquired.

 _Fuck._

He pulled himself to his full height.

"Did you… did you fall?" She asked incredulously, a small hand reaching out to take his shoulder and he slapped it away before it came into contact with him

"No," He spat, waving her away.

"I just… I heard a thump outside of my door and I thought –"

"You thought perhaps what you wished came true? That someone managed to assassinate me? I thank you for your concern, but it is misplaced."

"Well – no –I.."

"Go back to bed, Jane," he instructed. "You are still inebriated and possibly hearing things."

She fumed for a moment, it was obvious she did not like what he said before she pursed her lips and eased her expression.

"I was getting water. I'm dehydrated," She said, her words careful.

He sighed, finally turning toward her. Her eyes scanned him for his lies that were not so well-hidden. A single brow raised, knowing he was probably not as imposing as he'd like to think he was, considering she just pushed past him and walked toward the kitchen, disregarding his order.

"Perhaps I did wish you died," she mumbled.

His hands curled at his sides at her aggravating words but he released them just as quickly. Not the time.

He walked to his room and slammed the door behind him before he did anything more.

He wasn't _this_ impatient. He wasn't some manic monster.

But he was certainly going insane.


	8. Chapter 8

"That fucking asshole!" Jane cried out into her empty room as she punched a pillow.

She swore she heard someone falling and groaning, as if in pain and she was certain it was Loki. It had to be – who else would sound like that? He was standing right there…

For a moment, she even panicked. She thought she'd care if he crippled over. But perhaps it was her drunken state that gave her more feelings than necessary. It was _Loki_. He should be killed.

His retorts to her were even worse – that cold, calculating look he always has made her insides cringe. God, she hated him. So what if he died? So what if he just… passed out? 

She flipped back onto the bed.

There had to be a way out. There just had to be. If she spent one more moment with that asswipe she was going to try to claw his eyes out and then he'd likely kill her for her insolence.

But she couldn't… she thought of Darcy and Erik and her work…

Did it even matter anymore? Any of that? Even if Loki lost somehow, why would anyone want to search the stars? Why give more reason to cause harm to this world?

Her anger quickly turned into despair.

She sobbed into the pillow she had just punched into submission.

This was going to be a long night…

O-O-O

The day was quiet. Mostly because Jane was slowly rehabilitating her appetite and getting over the amount of wine she had in one sitting and Loki was out doing whatever Loki needed to do. It left Jane to sit and do what she did best – think critically.

She weighed the risks of leaving should she successfully get her satellite phone and contact SHIELD. She also knew that there was a possibility that her satellite phone was long gone and destroyed so that SHIELD could not track her. But then again, she doubted that this was a concern of Loki's. He made his threats and SHIELD stuck to not risking exposing their remaining people to him for Loki to destroy.

It was also possible Loki was hiding it elsewhere that was not here. She didn't know the extent of his magic, but she did know that she wouldn't put it past him to place it into an interdimensional locker of sorts such that it would be impossible for her to find. It was just a risk she had to be willing to take.

But how could she even begin to look for it?

She eyed the maid from across the room, peering just above the book she was fake reading in the living room. She hadn't spoken a single word to Jane since their only conversation. She couldn't put her at risk. Nor could she trust anyone, really. She had to be self-sufficient and she felt like she was the only one who could get that close to Loki.

She had to earn his trust. It meant she had to get closer to him without drawing suspicion to what she might accomplish. After everything she knew now what with the nature in which he was attempting to rule her planet, whether she believes it or not, it would be very easy to convince Loki that she's convinced. Is that not what he was wanting in the first place? Liar he may be, but if she's genuine enough…

Maybe it wouldn't even be that difficult. She could look at his basest intentions of why she was there in the first place – to exact a revenge against Thor.

An idea popped into her head. A sick and twisted idea, but an idea nonetheless. She knew it was going to have severe repercussions, but she wasn't entirely sure how to go about getting into Loki's room without asking the maid herself.

Anxiety rippled through her stomach such that she almost felt nauseous.

She'd have to somehow woo Loki. She wasn't particularly good at flirting, nor was she any good at leading people on in a way that a liar couldn't see through it. But perhaps Loki would be somewhat blinded by his own desire that he wouldn't see through this plotted scheme?

It was worth a shot.

But what would Thor think? Loki wouldn't let this happen without Thor knowing. If she did manage to escape, she would have to tell Thor what happened and why it happened. Would he even forgive her?

She hung her head in her arms. She didn't want to be stuck with this man for the rest of her life or until Loki tires of her and decides to control her. She didn't want to be tossed around, to be used like some doll. She didn't want to be seen as some sort of escort. Loki deserved to be equally as used as she has been.

This was retribution. This was sick. It was now that Jane was realizing that Loki was right – they weren't all that dissimilar.

But this was worth it. She couldn't be his little pet for much longer.

Jane's feminism died a silent, painful death this day.

She mulled over this idea, preparing her for the worst and the best. She knew should she find any communication device, she would be able to contact at least Natasha, if she wasn't dead or captured yet.

It was another day until Loki was back in the apartment. Her anxiety was on the highest of settings. Sleeping was not something she could manage very well. She would tell Natasha the address and they could figure it out from there, she'd hope. Would they even risk it? Over her?

It was two in the morning and Jane wasn't anywhere close to sleep. She decided she needed to read until she passed out, as she typically used to do. She unlocked the door, and found Loki sitting in the living room, his head bowed slightly, only moving to sip from his glass of wine in his hands, an opened bottle next to that.

Why was it that one moment she found Loki nearly crumbling over from _something_ and then the next, he was sitting all refined in a chair, as if nothing happened.

The closer she got, the more she realized he wasn't as refined-appearing as his posture suggested. His hair was distraught, not neatly combed back as usual, his eyes had bruise-like shadows beneath them.

He paused, hearing her footsteps, placing his glass down.

She cautiously walked toward the bookcase in the living room, her eyes not leaving him.

"I did not think you would be awake at this hour. If I disturbed you, I do apologize," he muttered, his voice monotonous. It bothered her. His typical sneers were replaced with an almost sad, lazy tone.

"I haven't been able to sleep," she said, shrugging as she placed the books from her room back onto the shelves. "From the looks of it, neither have you."

"No, I cannot say I have," He replied almost sadly, looking narrowly down his nose at the wine glass that he swirled the wine in before taking a large sip and pouring himself another.

It must have been exceedingly bad, she thought to herself. Loki would never show his true emotions to her. She would bet he would rather disappear before she even stepped foot. Perhaps he was far too tired to care for once. She wanted to feel bad for him if it wasn't for the fact that his something bad was most likely better for her world. But then again…

"Austen?" Loki breathed a low chuckle, watching her place the books back onto the shelves.

"Yeah?" She asked, frowning and turning around to look at him observing her from afar. How he could read the small print on the bottom of a book cover was beyond her. "Do you have a problem with Jane Austen?"

"I never thought you might be a fan of her. Her works are so frivolous and overly romantic."

"Oh?" She asked, crossing her arms. "If you're so well-versed in Earthen authors, who might you say I should be a fan of?"

"More intelligent works, I'd wager. Similar to Charles Dickens or even the illustrious characters of Steinbeck," He chuckled again at the grimace on her face. "You surprise me yet again, Miss Foster."

"Forgive me not wanting to fill my free time with relentless social commentary, and picked something actually entertaining."

" _Actually_ entertaining?" He laughed again, and his mirth wasn't to decry or insult for once. It made her heart lighter to see that he was his normal self again rather than the brooding darkness that he was before. "Oh, please. Why not Shakespeare? Or Agatha Christie?"

"I don't think I asked for your judgement," She laughed mirthlessly, slowly turning around to look at him, her hand on her hip. "You criticize everything about Earth and humans and now you criticize my taste in literature?"

His eyes lit up, bright green against the pallor that was his skin at her sudden retort, his hands slowly raising in mock surrender and his head tilting.

"Oh, I do apologize, Jane. It is all in good humor, I assure you. I do not mean to insult your intelligence or your poorly placed taste. Please, have a seat," He extended his arm to offer the divan across from his usual chair. "Perhaps we can tire each other out with a good-natured debate, hmm? A little wine wouldn't go amiss."

With a wave of his hand, a goblet appeared already filled with wine. His arm paused before he extended it to her, an offering. His eyes searched her face but there was something more there… something she hadn't seen in them before…

A certain kind of desperation, she thought. Like he was silently asking " _please"_ which, she knew, would never grace his lips apologetically. Not aloud, anyway.

Jane was hesitant. She looked at the wine, knowing that if she said yes, then she was also asking for his company willingly. This would be a first that he was not forcing her to spend time with him. She could say she was tired and would all too quickly try to go back to sleep and forget that she found Loki, sitting alone, distraught and tired.

It was a challenge, she thought. Just a challenge.

His hand was about to recoil, as she wasn't taking the wine. She stopped him in his tracks, taking the glass, and sat down across from him.

"So… what's wrong with _Pride and Prejudice_?" She asked.

O-O-O-O-O-O

Loki could not tell if it were the wine or perhaps his loneliness that sparked such a situation, but he was far from regretting it. He found himself leaning back lazily in his seat, his fingers circling the rim of his wine glass lazily over and over as he spoke with Jane about the merits of Jane Austen and her characters before delving into much more intellectual reads.

He watched as she went from the terrified mouse that he had dragged here to the intellectual, charming woman that must have inspired some sort of change in Thor…

But Thor did not value intelligence nor charm. Though it became clear as to why one might enjoy such a woman as Jane Foster, it became an all-encompassing riddle of why Thor might.

For Jane, he had begun to conjecture that Thor was a fascination. Perhaps simply infatuation. But love? Surely not.

"Loki?"

His head perked up at the sound of his name. Jane had been speaking to him and he was lost within his own mind, delving into all the possibilities of _why_ …

His mouth opened to form an apology. He clearly was not listening to her at that point. The entire point was to debate and here he was, a gaping fish.

"Uhm, so, not that I care because, you know, you're you and I'm me and… I don't know but… are you okay?"

Perhaps it was the wine that made his head spin at this point. Perhaps it was also the wine that would press Jane to ask such a question. Indeed. Why _did_ she care?

"I thank you for your concern, Dr. Foster, but I am quite fine," he lied.

She didn't seem to believe it for one moment, but regardless she sipped at the wine.

"This wine is really good," She said, looking at the bottle he had eventually given her. He would go through one bottle on his own to even begin to feel its effects so he wouldn't task Jane with sharing with him out of one.

"It is from California," he inquired, "It is not quite like what I am used to but it is good enough."

"Hmm," Jane said nonchalantly.

"You were born in California, no?"

She looked down and away almost immediately, as is stricken.

"What else do you know about me?" She asked after some time, her voice hollow and distant.

He considered not answering her question immediately.

"Surely you do not wish for me to respond," He said, chuckling a bit, but it was hardly humorous.

Her eyes narrowed and seemed to send daggers his way.

"And what would I get out of telling you what I know? It is quite bold of you to assume I would privy you to that information."

She rolled her eyes, getting up from her chair to leave, wobbling slightly as she stood.

"Finished with our conversation so soon? I was just beginning to enjoy it," he said, tilting his head to the side.

"Why do you even bother speaking?" She barked quite suddenly, nearly knocking her own wine onto the carpet. "

"I apologize – did you not enjoy our conversation before? I think you nearly convinced me of why I should appreciate Mr. Darcy."

"I did! I-" She wavered, raising her hand as if to still herself. "No, no, that's the problem! You want me to. You want me to think you're all charming and funny when you're just searching for things to… to use against me! You're not even tipsy! This is a ploy…"

Charming and funny?

"I'm flattered," he said, raising his hands, grinning as he sat forth, balancing his glass between his hands as he stood up and stepped toward her. She was quite small, he thought. So fragile. How easy it could be to break her. A flick of his wrist, and her neck could snap. Like a twig.

She cowered, shrinking as he stood in front of her, but she could do little about it – her reflexes were slower as were her wits. She could not run from him, even if she wanted to. She was just as curious as he – and he could prove it.

"I didn't mean to flatter _you_ …" She whimpered.

His hand rose up, lightly touching the warmth of her soft cheek – her skin was like paper to him.

"I think you know that I like the game," he breathed, his attention going from the softness of her cheek to the feeling of her warm breath against his cool skin. She was frozen in place. "You said so yourself."

"I'm not…a game…" She said, her voice shaking.

"You are." His hand found its way to her hair, brushing it out of her face before lowering down to her chin to force her eyes to meet his. They did not wish to, and he couldn't care.

"Please…"

"Please, what? You think I will hurt you, Jane? You think me that cruel? After everything I've shown you? Everything we just shared?" Even he wasn't certain, to be quite honest.

She said nothing, her breathing heightened. She had every freedom to squirm away from him. He had no magic on her this time – just her willingness to stay just where he pinned her.

"We're alone, Jane. Both of us. No family to call ours. Mocked for our endeavors. Intelligence. It is shocking to me that Thor even cared for you. But no, I think it is a mere infatuation… He has not once attempted to come save you."

"Stop."

"Stop, what, Jane? You don't wish to be like the villain? The monster?"

"We are nothing alike," She spat.

"I beg to differ," He grinned, letting his hand drop from her chin and the nonexistent spell was released. She backed away like a wounded dog.

"Why does it matter? I'm nothing but a pawn for you. A game. And Thor would try if you didn't threaten to other lives."

"Perhaps you are," he said nonchalantly. "Perhaps he would."

"I know he would. He's a good man!"

"I think you feel much too highly of him and too little of yourself. I like you, Jane. I think if you'd let go of this foolish notion of trying to best me, of fighting so stubbornly—"

"You're full of shit," She interrupted, nearly falling over until she sat on the couch again. "Is this where… where you ask me to come to the dark side?" She began to laugh.

His grin disappeared.

"While we're talking about me, let's… let's talk about you," She stuttered, lazily pointing a finger at his chest.

He said nothing, his eyes narrowing as his heart pounded in his ears. How dare this foolish girl turn it back on him? Why he'd—

"I don't need a history of your life to know – you're jealous! You've always wanted what Thor has. You couldn't just let me get by. You don't like me - you like the idea of me. Of me being on your side and watching Thor suffer. You think you're so difficult to figure out."

"If you know what is best for you, Jane, you would stop talking," he spat.

She laughed again. "I don't. I don't know what's best for me."

He wished to slap her. He wished to snap her neck just as he considered it. His hand curled up tightly. Stupid girl. He could hardly hear his own breathing over the racing of his heart.

"I could kill you for saying that," He hissed.

"Do it," She pressed, wobbling toward him. "It's better than putting up with you anyway."

And he wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to. How easy it would be.

But no.

He turned on his heel and left before he would even begin to.

O-O-O-O-O-O

Jane was left alone there. She shocked herself – her sudden bout of courage. Of course, none of it had even gone to plan. Why would it? It was Loki. She was stupid for thinking she could even begin to control him.

She walked to her room, stumbling over the rug as she was still very much so tipsy. Maybe he would sneak into her room tonight and murder her. Would it be quick? Painless?

The amount of emotion that would follow such a terrifying situation was dulled by the swirling sensation of the world. She didn't know why she was so courageous – to talk to Loki like that was simply asking for it.

She just put her life on the line like that…

She sank into her bed, her head face down on the pillow as the world spun, her ears ringing. How she just wanted to sleep…

But something hard was under her pillow. She dug her hand under.

It was her phone. Her heart felt as though it was about to leap out of her chest. How in the world…

A note was attached to it with a rubber band. Her hands fumbled around trying to unravel it.

 _Miss Foster-_

 _Loki will be away at 0800 tomorrow. It is essential that you call this number at that exact time the moment he leaves this building and destroy this paper. Agent Romanoff and Mr. Stark will be procuring your escape._

 _-Agent Warren_

Her heart seemed to drop into her chest. Her tears from before turned into tears of joy. She would be out of here in less than a couple hours. Her hand muffled her sobs of utter relief. There was no sleep to be had tonight, it seemed.

So, SHIELD was not entirely defeated, it would seem. She would saee Tony again and Natasha who were obviously alive and well… She cried and cried until she had no more tears left. Then, it was time to plan. How would she know that Loki had left the building at 8 in the morning? She'd have to be aware of his departure without him realizing that she was watching him.

She packed her things and then stuffed them under the bed. Surely Loki wouldn't have some sort of magical surveillance? That he would sniff out the fact that she was preparing to leave? She doubted he would be bothering with her again for quite some time after their standoff.

The moment everything she wanted from this room was packed and ready to go, she just sat on the floor next to her bed and waited. She knew that if she fell asleep, she would not wake up in time for when he left. Nerves crept up on her. What if Loki would know? What if he found out? What if this was a trick?

Then again, if the maid was sneaking around the place, picking up things that Loki was completely unaware of without Loki realizing she was a SHIELD agent, then Loki was not as vigilant as Jane would think he was. Or rather, he was far too distracted with other matters to worry about what was going on within his own home.

She then paced the room, watching the sun rise over the horizon.

Maybe, if she was lucky… She would see Thor. Her heart leapt at the thought. Thor – someone safe and secure. He wouldn't let Loki come near her ever again if he had a say in it. The thought gave her more relief.

Hours ticked by faster than she thought they would, her mind filling with the thoughts and worries of leaving.

She held the phone in her hand, turning it over and over, memorizing the number she had to call.

She nearly even fell asleep, her head falling to lean against the mattress she was sitting up against.

However, it was a knock on the door that panicked her awake.

It wasn't Miss Warren, Stark, Natasha summoning her from the other side. It was Loki. It was 8 o'clock. She panicked, throwing the phone under the bed. He figured it out, didn't he? He knew. Why wouldn't he know?

She shuffled the things under her bed even further such that he could not see it from standing in the doorway.

"Jane?" He beckoned her.

She threw the phone back under the pillow.

He knocked once more.

What the hell did he want so early in the morning? Was this the end?

She swallowed back all her nerves. She had to make this as believable as possible.

He was shuffling with the lock on her door using his magic, quite possibly.

She opened it before he got any further.

He wore a suit and he looked far from murderous. What in the world…

"Did I wake you?"

She glanced at the clock. It was past 8. She didn't even get back in the room until 3.

"Yes," she scoffed, running a hand through her messed up hair. She didn't even bother brushing it in the past day at least.

"My apologies. I will be away for the next day or two," he said, seeming to weigh each word on his tongue carefully.

"And?" She asked, rolling her eyes and he seemed to bite back his own frustration but shook it off just the same.

He looked away from her, but grabbed her hand that wasn't holding the door open, gently pulling her closer to him without any sort of warranted explanation. She eyed him warily. What was he doing? Finishing the task he wanted to last night?

He grabbed her chin yet again, in that hypnotic way he seemed to have without ever truly intending it. A noise escaped her lips. This was the end.

He'd snap her neck. She wouldn't know it was coming. Perhaps it would be fast.

Another hand clasped behind her neck, pulling her toward him such that his face was next to hers. She swallowed an audible gulp, staring into the face of her killer… except…

She inhaled – and before she could exhale, his lips were upon hers, breathing in the air that didn't manage to escape. She couldn't move, she couldn't think. She just stood for a dumb second and then she began to squirm - clawing for leverage, pushing against his immoveable chest.

His cool tongue parted her lips, demanding an entrance. It slipped into her mouth, startling her. And that was his mistake.

She bit down hard on his tongue and he pulled away with such a force that his hand almost hit her nose.

She used that moment of his surprise to slap him. Again.

He pulled away instantly, stunned by her sudden resolve. She pointed a finger at him again, damn the consequences. "Don't you ever do that again," She spat, disgusted.

Her bravery didn't last for long, however. She was instantly knocked down, the breath stolen out of her lungs by some unseen force of magic.

"You have no right to threaten me, Jane Foster," he hissed.

But she wouldn't take this. She remembered his threats of rape from only a couple weeks ago. Is that what he wanted? She trembled as she perched herself up on her arms, staring at him.

"You… you fucking _kissed_ me without my permission! Like I would let you with permission, anyway. What the fuck is the matter with you?"

"I hardly need permission," He threw back immediately.

"So, you could just… _rape_ me and force me to kiss you like that?"

"You believe that was rape?"

He was gaining on her and on weak arms she moved herself away, squirming to get out of his path.

"What else could it be?" She cried out.

"A test, Dr. Foster," He said.

She shook uncontrollably as her mind caught up with everything. Loki kissed her…

Then, if nothing could get any worse, a vibration was heard on her bed.

He glared at her, also hearing the vibrations.

"What have you done?" He growled, clawing her down as he reached for the phone that was hidden under her pillow. He looked at it, his face cringing in disdain.

He looked at the phone and then back again, not entirely shocked. He began to grin, his lips spreading to reveal perfect white teeth that made her want to puke.

"It would seem I have been played," He said, chuckling as his hand single-handedly crushed the phone and dropped the pieces to the ground in front of her.

Jane watched in horror – her only means of escape literally crumbling before her eyes.

"You think you could escape? Foolish girl… Who did you think would come to the rescue? Hmm? This place is guarded. If anyone were to trespass they would be shot. That bracelet – I could track you the moment you left. I would find where you were immediately. No one can dismantle the spell except for I."

Loki chuckled, his laugh getting louder. Jane had nothing to say – she just waited until he would kill her.

Her horror was interrupted with the sound of shattering glass in the next room, and a loud vibration. The wall to her room was nearly crushed.

She screamed and his focus darted around – but it was too late.

The Hulk stood before the both of them – the apartment nearly being torn to shreds in his wake.

Loki's hands that were nearly in front of her face began to glow as he took a defensive stance.

She crawled away, not wanting to be apart of this fight, but she was relieved. Surely Banner would recognize her. Surely he was told to just attack Loki.

The window next to her shattered with what sounded like a blast. She screamed. What the hell was going on?

"G'morning, star girl!" A voice that sounded both robotic and familiar sounded outside, against the whirring wind.

She stood up, careful not to step on any glass, through the shattered window.

 _Oh, my god._ "Tony!"


	9. Chapter 9

"Tony!" She cried, relief filling her, even as the wind from being quite possibly the twentieth floor above ground roared through what was once her cage.

She looked behind her, seeing Loki being nearly beaten into submission by the Hulk. She couldn't believe all of this.

Everything happened so fast –

"Stand back," Tony warned, before sending a blast into the wall that supported the window so it would be easy to get Jane out safely. He landed next to her.

"How about we blow this popsicle stand?" Tony asked through the iron man suit.

Jane could only laugh – this was too much.

Jane decided there and then it wouldn't be possible for her to bring along the duffle bag she had hid under the bed, waiting for this moment. If the Iron Man suit was going to be plucking her out of the building, she doubted she could hold that, as well.

He extended an arm to her, instructing her to hold on as they would be dropping to the street that was over ten stories beneath them where the jet awaited.

The wind tossed Jane's hair around, incapacitating her from seeing just how far up she was from the road and she was quietly glad she wasn't afraid of heights.

When her feet found the ground, they were hurried by five different agents, including Miss Warren, the "maid." She smiled at Jane who smiled back as they boarded. She looked different when she wasn't skittishly flitting along. Instead, a bold, confidant actress stood in her mist.

"I got your back, Jane," Miss Warren said loudly close to her ear, grinning before turning her attention to her device. She dialed in on her own satellite phone. "Loki has been compromised. Jane is in custody."

Jane wondered how this was so easy. It made no sense. If this was so easy why didn't they do this weeks ago? Why weren't the chitauri attacking? Her mind spun with the details she didn't know, but she figured that if she did know then she would make for a very bad liar being so close to Loki himself.

She buckled herself into the jet, and the moment she sat down, she could feel the fatigue of all these hours without sleep, the wine from before leaving her with a headache indicating she was incredibly dehydrated. She could feel herself shut down the moment she thought she was safe – as if in total relief from being on edge all this time.

The world was spinning again.

"How are you feeling?" Agent Warren asked from across the jet sitting close to her.

"A lot of different things," She replied, shaking her head, running a hand through her wind-blown hair. "You... you worked for Loki this entire time? And he never figured out you were from SHIELD?"

"Loki… has a couple blind spots, we have figured out during your captivity. Director Fury has managed to strategically place agents who have minimal ties to SHIELD throughout Loki's regime. Myself being one of them – a risk they were less than willing to take until recently."

"Well, you fooled me," she said, shaking her head. "And you fooled him enough."

"I wouldn't worry about him for a little while longer. Reindeer games has met his match at the moment," Stark said as he walked back from the pilot, who looked to be Natasha.

"How is this working? How are we still flying away? Wouldn't all airspace be occupied by Loki's creepy alien army?" Jane pressed.

"Banner has kept them momentarily occupied. We staged an uprising downtown."

"All of this to save me?"

"And to capture Loki which," Stark looked down at his phone, and looked back up with a grin, "We succeeded. We're on the upswing, Jane. Thanks to your technology we've been able to more easily track his energy signatures with the portals that used to pop up out of nowhere. Now there's a rhyme and a reason. Especially with Agent Warren."

Jane felt giddy – not only was she being saved but she helped in her own saving, too. Her heart thudded with excitement and joy – this nightmare was ending.

"Not to mention someone has been particularly apt in trying to get you back. He assured us that you didn't actually switch to The Dark Side and that it was a ploy – not that any of us believed it but Fury was a little iffy."

If things couldn't get better – "Thor?" Jane breathed.

"It took an arm and a leg to get him to stay in the helicarrier when we determined how we were going to execute this. He would have been here, if not for Loki's threats… We knew we could beat him, but we didn't want to take chances."

She shook her head in disbelief. "The news just made it seem like this was all done for," She replied.

"We're not there yet," Agent Warren replied. "Loki has won over half of the countries of the planet. The majority of them have provided for the countries who are holding out like the US, UK and Russia. Once he depletes all our resources in countries like China and Africa – food, water, ammo, weapons – might he finally beat us.

"People in the middle of this country are starving. You'd bet they'd be willing to sell out given the chance. That's how he's winning them over. People are giving up. Hungry people lose sense. Food prices are skyrocketing similarly to oil and other goods. Some people are unhappy and killing themselves in rebellion, and others… well, others think that maybe Loki has a point. Luckily, Stark and Banner have been creating weapons. Weapons that might actually stand a chance against Loki's army and Loki himself…"

"Again, I doubt Thor will let that happen but we'll win him over just yet," Stark explained, rolling his eyes. "Whenever Loki manages to completely unravel this world, I bet Thor might reconsider…"

Jane felt a pang in her heart at that. Thor was protecting Loki, still. After all this time.

"Are you alright, Jane?" Stark asked, seeing that Jane was looking off into space again, deep in thought.

"No," she replied, letting out a laugh. "I'm really not."

"The bastard didn't… pull anything, did he?" Stark asked reluctantly, as if careful to set off any sort of trigger that might have occurred in the weeks she was in captivity.

Jane only looked at him. This wasn't what she wanted to talk about. "Look, there's… just a lot happening. Can we save it?" She asked.

"Makes sense. I'm sorry," he replied.

"No, it's fine. I'm just… really, really tired," she replied, shaking her head.

"We should-" Natasha was instantly interrupted when there was a loud boom on the side of the jet. Tony fell over but instantly brushed it off, running to the cockpit. Jane was thankfully buckled in while there was a brief moment of chaos.

"The chitauri are retaliating," Natasha exclaimed, checking each of the screens for any damage.

"Primary engine is down," Tony replied stoically, though there was a bit of panic in his voice. It was obvious he had already been through hell and back so far.

"We have enough power to remain afloat. Secondary engine is starting now."

Another loud boom shook the jet.

"We're going to get shot out of the sky," Agent Warren said panicking, jumping on to the headset. "Aircraft D-1116, do you copy? I repeat, do you copy?"

Another loud bang sounded but it was not this jet that was being hit. There was a fighter jet zooming by instantly, as Jane ran over to one of the windows. They looked like ants. Giant, contorted ants falling out of the sky from where she stood.

This wasn't supposed to be reality, she thought to herself as the chaos ensued. This is from Star Trek or some other crazy sci-fi show. This shouldn't be Jane's life.

"Secondary engine is at 70% capacity. It should be enough to get us to the helicarrier should nothing else stop. Employing invisibility shield now," She said, flipping more switches.

"What happened to 'I have this under control, Stark?'" Tony spat, taking the other pilot seat, throwing on a headset. "Are you fucking stupid?"

His biting insult was ignored by Natasha who had a dead focus on making it out of there.

Natasha's hands gripped the steering with such force, her head bent forward, manically calling into the headset for more backup.

"I think we got them – there were only two ships," Stark said. "Which could have easily been prevented."

"I'm sorry, Stark. I forgot you could have done this all by yourself," Natasha spat, irritation flooding in her voice.

"Yeah, well—"

"Stop fighting!" Jane exclaimed. "We're fine. Can we just move on? Please?"

"Yeah, well something stopped them. They know where we are, already," Tony said, throwing off his headset, running a hand through his hair.

"Like what?" Jane asked.

"Ya got me. I don't know how those freaky things work. Just that they're in some sort of hive mind… There's some centralized tech somewhere… It could be Loki. I doubt it. If we destroy it, we stop this. Now that we have Loki captured… perhaps now we can find out."

"Yeah? You think he'll just tell you?" Jane scoffed, shaking her head.

"Natasha here is pretty good at persuasion," Tony replied, glaring over at the pilot. "Gives me the creeps."

Jane had nothing to say to that. She didn't even want to think about what "persuasion" meant and what it would mean for Loki or any of them should Loki not oblige. She just wanted to make it to the helicarrier and be with Thor. She didn't want to deal with this anymore. To think she even went to a dinner with people who celebrated this…

She shut her eyes and leaned back on one of the seats. Uncomfortable though it was, it helped her take her mind off of whatever was going to happen now.

It felt like hours, but the noise of the engine changed. She jumped up to see the big hunk of metal floating in the sky that they called the helicarrier. Jane had only seen it once before, when she was first taken in to hiding after New York had been defeated. But it still wowed her ever since. She now knew what all the military funding the government had budgeted went to.

"Widow is in for the landing. Do you copy mother ship?" Natasha sounded again. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good," She replied to whoever was answering.

They went into a small alcove within the helicarrier, slowly but surely landing into a port. Tony helped Jane through a smaller door off to the side of the jet that allowed them to safely board the main area of the helicarrier.

"How has this thing not been detected?" She asked Tony, but he was distracted, glancing over her shoulder as they were brought out of the docking area, agents rushing around her, all of them with different headsets, paying no attention outside of the occasional second glance.

She assumed she would be quite popular now that the entirety of SHIELD knew her name. However, their attention went elsewhere, she noticed. Guards brushed by them quickly, all of them carrying heavy guns and it made her realize that she was not going to be the center of attention for much longer. Another jet had landed not too far from the landing bay.

The hall had quieted down. Several agents scurried past, each of them going on about one thing or another.

"They got him." "Finally, that bastard." "Damn, he looks like an animal."

There was no question that Loki had landed onto the helicarrier. She unconsciously held her breath as she had a good look at him for moments before her line of site was covered by armed guards, hauling him in chains to his destination. The first thing she saw was a muzzle-like piece that held his jaw in place.

"Rock of Ages," Tony breathed, "Doesn't look too good."

His stone-like skin was marred with several bruises and cuts. One of them was over his nose that looked slightly more distorted than before, and it was most likely broken. Scrapes covered his face and his armor was missing pieces of leather. The Hulk would have seemed like he had leveled the trickster god if it wasn't for the fact that he was still easily walking. Jane didn't know much about Thor and Loki's kind, just that they can take a pretty damn awful beating.

So transfixed was she that she did not realize that he was looking right at her. His nostrils were flared and his green eyes even brighter, more menacing, as they peered over the piece of metal.

"Don't think he's going anywhere too soon," Tony said as Loki and the guards marched right past them. Loki's eyes began to smile from above the muzzle, watching her. Jane shivered.

"Go glare at someone your own size, bastard," he spat at the man who walked by.

"Let's get out of here. Someone else wants to see you," Tony said, grabbing her shoulder and helping her walk behind the parade of guards. Jane was relieved Tony was there. It was almost like he was a shield, preventing Loki from getting to her again, even though it seemed certain Loki was caught.

They were led into the main room where hundreds of people whirred about, on computers, all talking at the same time. Navigating, answering calls. A giant window let the light in to the vessel. It was like a cruise ship in the air.

She tried to focus more on the part that-

"Jane!" It was Thor's booming voice. One second, Thor was walking next to Fury on the main drag of the navigation room and the next, she was being enveloped into his big, warm arms, swooping her up into an embrace. Her feet lost the ground as she was hoisted upwards and hugged so firmly she thought she was going to lose her breath.

"Thor!" She replied into his chest, wearing a cheesy grin on her face that she always seemed to have whenever Thor was involved. He smelled like fire and the outdoors in the summer time, even though he has most likely been on this ship for all these months, only periodically leaving to help.

"Thank the Norns you are safe." Thor's voice was muffled by Jane's hair. "I would have got you myself. But they kept saying no – like I couldn't take my own brother."

"Thor… It's okay. I'm here now, right?"

"I am so sorry, Jane…" Thor said, holding her hands in front of him. "You will never forgive me – I am sure of it."

Jane had to gather her thoughts in order to not look like a tired, gaping fish. "Why are you sorry? It's not your fault."

"If I had been there – if I could have stopped Loki from the start none of this would have happened. I just-" He shook his head. Thor was much more distressed about this then he was about to let on. "It's been a bit difficult."

"What happened, happened, Thor. Loki didn't kill me nor did he hurt me beyond repair," Jane replied.

"You lovebirds can talk later," Fury said, his passive voice ringing in her ears, standing across from them, his arms crossed across his chest. "Miss Foster and I need to have a chat."

"She just got here, one-eyed wonder. I think a breather is in order. She looks like the walking dead," Tony said, his arm wrapped around Pepper who looked more than happy that he was there as well, and alive.

"Thanks, Tony," Jane said, rolling her eyes.

Pepper managed to be found by SHIELD and brought into their custody, apparently, right before Jane was taken by Loki, so she never got to meet her until now. It was a relief to Tony – last time she saw him, he was mad with grief, unsure of whether Pepper was alive or not.

"If you wouldn't mind, actually…" Jane said, "When I first got Agent Warren's message, it was in the middle of the night and I couldn't sleep. I think I'd have better things to say."

She didn't want Thor to hear anything from anyone else, to be perfectly honest. She could do with a nap, some food and some water, but if Thor heard anything regarding whatever Loki did to her from anyone else, the story would have been distorted already.

Fury glared between the three of them, his eye narrowing down on Jane.

"Fine. I'll give you until 1600," He eyed Thor, "And then if you would bring her to the interrogation room."

Thor smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Of course."

Fury turned on his heel and walked off.

"He doesn't think I'm suspicious or anything, right?" Jane asked Thor, considering the glare Fury gave her.

"He might have some reconsiderations to bringing you here considering what… Loki made you out to be. However, I assured the Director he was only trying to lure me," Thor explained carefully and his head hung. He went quiet for a long while. He was most definitely not the same Thor that she ran over with the van. His eyes looked narrower, his lips didn't pull into such an easy smile. He walked slowly alongside her down what looked like to be apartment-like rooms with the similar bland, militaristic-style hallways and doors. The halls were empty, considering it was still the middle of the day.

"He nearly succeeded," He muttered under his breath.

"None of us knew what was going to happen," Jane said, brushing her arm on his.

He ignored her as they continued to walk down the hall.

"Lady Potts gave you some clothes to wear that would be in your room should you choose to sleep there," Thor explained, extending an arm out as he stopped at the door. "I did not wish to speak for you."

She blushed.

"Well… if you don't mind… since Loki's on the ship, I'd like to stick around you…" She stuttered. She could hardly believe that she initiated this. She wasn't sure what he'd have to say.

"I do not mind, my lady," He said, bowing his head, a small smile on his lips. She opened the door to her small, unimpressive room. It's not unlike the other rooms she had before Loki's apartment when she was hiding. A cot-like bed, a side table, a toilet, sink, and shower and a small dresser. On her dresser was a bag of clothes and accessories she might need. She smiled.

"Remind me to thank Pepper for everything. They're too kind," She murmured, slinging the bag over her shoulder. She wondered if she even had enough room to share with Thor.

"Stark is a good man. If not frustrating," Thor commented as she shut the door to what would be her room.

He opened the door to his own across the hall and there was the answer to her question.

His room was much better.

The room was huge. A giant window compromised the back wall, revealing the sky and clouds whirring by. He even had his own kitchenette, complete with a mini-fridge, microwave, and luckily, coffee pot. Jane widened her eyes. She hadn't had coffee in a long time.

His bed was over double the size of hers, and it made sense, considering Thor's size.

"It is not most impressive," Thor said, shrugging. "But it is home, I suppose, for now."

"You don't even know, Thor," Jane scoffed. Of course it's not much to him. He lived in a palace. It reminded her of the tone Loki would use whenever something arose that he deemed was below him. She nearly forgot they both were, are, princes of another realm. She would like to believe they both shared a grandiose lifestyle that she couldn't even fathom. But, for right now, it just seemed incredibly snobbish. "Have you not gone back to Asgard? Surely they could have helped…"

Thor looked up to her, again, incredibly sad as he sat upon one of the mini sofas that was placed near the big window. It broke her heart. Whatever had happened between the brothers seemed to be nearly killing Thor on the inside. She had no idea what transpired after he left to deal with what went on on Asgard. She just knew it had to deal with Loki.

"No," He murmured, "I apologize, Jane. There is a lot that I have not told you since I saw you last."

"No," She agreed. "You just left to go deal with Loki and… then I just assumed you forgot me. Or something happened. And then a year later Loki appeared here and everything just went to shit… What happened?"

 _To be continued…_

 **I'm just gonna say, even though I am a fan of villains and heroines, I do still love Thor and all of his qualities. Anyway, please do review. I might even update again here soon.**


	10. Chapter 10

"So… he's not your real brother?"

Thor shook his head. He had explained everything to Jane – from him being banned to Midgard, to Loki finding out that he was not at all his brother, and then Loki ruling over Asgard before attempting genocide of a race he truly belonged to. Only to fail and for him to… Well, commit suicide and ended up trying to rule another realm.

This was a lot to process. It would seem she inadvertently found herself in the middle of a celestial soap opera, and her planet was the collateral damage.

Loki was willing if not overly stubborn.

"I apologize, Jane. If there was any way to reach you, I would have, and explained everything to you earlier, but alas, I could not."

"If there is no Einstein-Rosen bridge… then how did you end up here?" Jane asked, frowning slightly, and Thor's eyes once again went distant.

"There are other means by which one can travel. They are simply more rough and unsteady. It… took a lot out of my mother for me to reach here. Which is why I cannot leave until I have Loki captured."

"You do realize that when this is over, you've gotta show me all of this," Jane said, shaking her head, though not wanting to disregard the tragic story Thor retold to her. "Oh, only if… only if you can, of course. And if this ends. I don't want to impose. Actually, I—"

Thor gave a small grin, holding up his hand to stop her rambling.

"You have my word, Jane Foster. This time I intend to keep it." He said, grabbing her hand and giving it a light squeeze.

"I don't want to seem insensitive. It's clear that…" She swallowed. "That you still feel for Loki. Even if he's gone off the deep end."

"I had no idea of his troubles, of his envy, hatred and self-loathing. I knew not what went through his complicated head. He never spoke freely of such feelings. I wish I could have known…"

"I'm so sorry, Thor," She replied, not knowing what else to say. It made sense. All of it.

"Whatever found Loki in that abyss changed him for the worse. He is not the Loki I knew and loved."

"Whatever found Loki didn't make him nearly kill you and destroy Puente Antiguo," Jane countered, frowning. "Whatever found him also didn't make him try to commit genocide."

"He had his issues before, yes, but whatever happened during his time twisted his memories and his mind in such a way…" Thor shook his head, running a hand through his hair, his eyes looking distantly out the window.

Her thoughts went inward as well. Her mind battled with the thought that she felt almost _bad_ for Loki. He clearly had his reasons, if not misguided and harmful, for being so angry and hateful. She didn't want to feel this way about Loki, but it was inevitable. Nobody wanted to see the villain as anything but a villain.

"Are you quite alright, Jane?" Thor asked, looking at her, clearly worried. "Loki didn't harm you…?"

"He…" Jane began, heaving in a deep sigh, trying to relieve her heavy heart, "He slapped me a couple of times. Outside of that, he gave empty threats that he never carried out…" She muttered, frowning. "Something changed and he stopped yelling at me or harming me. I don't know what it was. I think he tried to win me over to his side. But even that I'm not sure."

Thor frowned, growing more and more irritated as she went on.

"I think he wanted to use me, to win me over in order to get at you, but I don't truly know," Jane shied away, knowing the inevitable would have to be brought up, should he find out from anyone else. "He… He actually kissed me," She said, her head hanging and her cheeks growing a fierce red in embarrassment.

At first, he seemed stunned. The silence was deafening. Then, he punched a wall and Jane jumped.

He angrily said words in a language she could only assume was Asgardian, pacing back and forth.

"Thor…" Jane said, standing up, trying to calm him down so he doesn't damage anything else wall or do anything else that he may regret later.

Thor shook his head, running a hand through his hair, looking as though he was attempting to calm himself down. She felt herself sinking further and further away from Thor. She did not like being in the middle like this, like she was now between a brother's feud with her world at stake. She was almost simultaneously turned off from this situation in general, as she is not some prize to be fought over, if it wasn't for Thor wrapping his arms around her and kissing her forehead that reminded her why she was even here in the first place.

She sunk into his arms, putting her face into his chest, breathing in his scent of pine and ozone.

"I'll protect you from… _him_ from here on forth," Thor muttered into her hair.

She said nothing in return, knowing there was nothing _to_ say. They stood there, embracing each other for what felt like a solid eternity before she decided it was time for a nap.

"I know the Director wants me to answer some questions, but I think my mind is mush right now," She murmured, being the first to pull away. She went to sit on the bed, finding it entirely too comfortable to be a bed aboard a government-funded aircraft. Even the sheets smelled like Thor, she figured out.

"You should rest," Thor insisted, slipping in to sit beside her. "I will wake you when it is time to go."

She smiled up at him, though it was sad sort of smile, the corners of her mouth only making it halfway before resolving into a frown. Thor sat with his head between his hands.

Poor Thor, she thought, her heart hurting as she pondered the troubles he dealt with upon returning to his home after she last saw him. It was clear Thor loved his false brother, still, though Jane could hardly even fathom _why_. Jane wondered just how far he would go before giving in to what the other Avengers clearly wanted to do with Loki - what was most likely going to be the best solution to ending this war. She wondered what would cause Thor to snap, and she wondered even more if it was Loki kissing Jane to get back at him…

Jane found her mind wondering, thinking about these polar opposite brothers that have so vexed her life, and soon unconsciousness uprooted such thoughts.

Thor gently shook Jane awake, and Jane, almost forgetting where she was and who she was with nearly leapt out of the bed.

She evened out her breathing, remembering everything slowly but surely.

"I did not mean to startle you, but I figured you might like some coffee before speaking with Fury," Thor said, extending the cup to her.

She smiled, flushing, finding it cute that he made coffee for her.

"Learned how to make coffee, huh?" She asked, eying the machine on the kitchenette.

He gave an odd sort of smile, "Stark showed me," he replied, "it is not at all difficult."

She took a sip, not caring enough to find cream nor sugar or bother. She grimaced, finding it to taste like coffee found in hotels…

"Something wrong?"

"No, just… not the best brand. It's not your fault. It's good otherwise," She explained, not wishing to make him feel bad for something he couldn't of helped.

"I see."

"Still a fan, too," She laughed, remembering when he threw the coffee cup at the diner onto the floor, demanding another. It felt like an eternity ago…

Thor only nodded, and it was then she saw that something was very wrong, his expression pinching into one of distaste. His emotions were not as difficult to read as Loki's were.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked, scooting up the bed to sit next to him.

"They are interrogating Loki," Thor replied. "He isn't responding."

"Did they really believe he would?"

"They asked me to… _help_ while you were sleeping…" He seemed wary.

"Help?" Jane asked, and then Thor looked pointedly at Mjolnir, what she didn't see was sitting in the room until just now. "Oh," She replied.

"I might have… taken out some frustrations, but… I could not… I had to stop. He still would not respond."

"Oh," Jane continued, not knowing how to feel, and it was clear neither did Jane. "So… what are they going to do next?"

"They are deliberating," Thor responded, "With Loki not responding, they might take things into their own hands and then… then it's up to me, I suppose." He gave a heavy sigh, his shoulders slouching over.

"Look, Thor," Jane said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You don't… you don't have to, you know. You can leave it to someone else. There has to be something else, right?"

"Asgardian metal is the only thing that could possibly harm another Aesir. Loki is not Aesir, but he has the attributes of one. He will not be harmed with Midgardian weapons," Thor explained and then shook his head. "There must be another way to bring him to justice without…" He could not bring himself to finish the sentence. He then stood up. "Come, I will show you where to find Fury."

O-O-O-O-O-O

"He violated you?" Fury pressed forth with the passive urgency that only a well-trained spy could muster, one void of emotion or opinion. His one eye shifted to Natasha who stood motionless in the corner of the room, her nostrils flaring.

Jane nodded, again flushing a deep red, shifting in the uncomfortable metal chair, directly across from Fury. It was the cherry on top of her recollections of her weeks spent with Loki. Uncomfortably question after uncomfortable question seemed to be the name of this game, and though she hated thinking about it, she knew it had to be done to make her case against the fact that she was conducive with Loki at all.

"Is there anything else, Doctor?"

She shook her head.

"Nothing was shared regarding his army? His plan?"

"Just… just the fact that he was meeting with some former senators regarding the upheaval of the former system to be replaced with his new one. Nothing I haven't told you already," She explained. "He wanted to make his case seem likeable for me. I don't really know why."

"He wanted you on his side," Fury finished, his head tilting, his lips pressed into a firm line.

Jane said nothing for a long while, contemplating his assumption and nodded once. "I guess that's a good way of saying it. He never directly told me his reasoning outside of using me against Thor but…" She shook her head. "I can't even tell, really."

"Thor tells me he set you up to look like you were on his side, too. For the cameras. Is this true?"

"It is. He made me be his public escort which… I guess, blown itself out of proportion. Whatever people said wasn't true. We didn't do anything until that time that he assaulted me. I didn't help him. I just wanted my life to be spared."

Jane felt like she was recounting events from another life – not something real. She stared at the Director, hoping that this was the last of his questions. She was still tired – no amount of sleep would ever help.

"Very well, Dr. Foster," The Director said, giving a curt nod, dismissing her with a wave of his hand. "Your help will be very necessary. I think Stark has already told you that what you had set up before everything went to shit has been helping us track Loki's portals. Banner has detected a certain amount of radiation he needs you to check out and see if it's in alignment with stuff from before… I don't know. I'm no scientist. Basically, we need your help. When you're ready."

Jane nodded. "Whatever I can do."

O-O-O-O-O

"Still not responding?" Jane called out to Thor as he entered his room, the day ending too quickly.

Jane had sprawled out across Thor's bed, being allowed a day of rest before going to work on whatever it was Banner had managed to figure out.

Thor didn't answer, placing Mjolnir on the counter casually before swinging back against the counter, his bulky arms crossing across his chest. She took that as a no.

"Anything I could do?" Jane offered, setting aside her book.

Thor sat at the edge of the bed, his head falling into his hands once more. He looked as though he was ready to weep. Jane's heart broke. It killed her on the inside seeing him like this. Loki could care less about the distress he caused his once-brother.

She crawled over to him, resting her head on his shoulder, wishing there could be something she could say or do that might relieve this pain. Thor moved, his arm wrapping around Jane and pulling her close to him. All she could hear was the steady beating of his heart.

They remained this way for a very long time until Jane nearly fell asleep sitting up, his arms warm and comfortable and _safe_.

It was easy for Jane to love Thor, she thought. He was a good man with a heart that could hold so much more than anyone she'd ever know.

She fell asleep easily, laying in his arms. This simple intimacy was enough for Jane.

O-O-O-O

The morning came all too soon. She awoke still in his arms. She was glad he had not left during the night – it made her feel that much safer.

He was still asleep, and she let him sleep, going to go find food to bring back into their room. She went to the bathroom to shower and tidy up as she felt like all of the dirt clung to her. The dirt being Loki's hands that shoved her backward, that stopped her from moving as he kissed her.

She shuddered and nearly felt like she needed to scrape off the outermost layer of skin until she was finally clean.

She was glad most of the soaps provided to Thor were neutral-smelling. She didn't need any more of a giant red arrow pointing over her, singling her out – Thor's girlfriend! Loki's hostage! – while she only meant to get breakfast and see what Banner would need of her today.

She showered quickly, combing her hair out as it was grossly knotted and she looked more like a stray animal than a scientist. Feeling slightly more human, she dug through the clothes Pepper managed to get for her, thankfully finding jeans and a t-shirt. The jeans were a bit long, so she rolled up the bottoms of them. She was used to it.

Thor was evidently a heavy sleeper, so she ventured off, following the scent of coffee and syrup down the hall where people were gathering around a screen. Jane peered over the shoulders of several agents, seeing more scenes of violence – Loki wasn't even around, and people were protesting. People flipping over cars, shattering through storefronts to get food in some countries that had not yet surrendered. Protests lined the streets of the city she had just left. The world had gone mad and it was all because of the man who was being kept below their feet.

Jane had to walk away. She didn't want to think of this. She just wanted to eat.

She grabbed a tray, putting two plates of food. She scooped up things she thought Thor might like, doubting he was picky - a couple scoops of eggs, some pancakes, bacon, and coffee, soon followed by smaller portions of each on her own plate.

"Where's Dr. Foster?" She heard a voice, Fury's likely, boom over the crowd of people eating breakfast.

Her heart dropped. Some of the coffee spilled over on the tray as she turned to look to see who needed her and why. Their eyes met almost immediately. Or rather, his eye and her eyes. He walked with purpose quickly over to Jane.

She swallowed.

"What's wrong?" Her voice was hardly her own. Soft, mousey, tired.

"A man is dead," Fury said grimly, his voice low so as to not disturb the surrounding agents and cause a panic.

Jane swallowed. "There's a lot of dead people, yeah. We're at war."

Where did this sarcasm come from?

He pulled her shoulder closer to him.

"The war criminal has killed one of the guards last night. He demands to see you."

"Me?"

"You."

"Why?" Jane breathed.

"You tell me, Doctor. You're the one who has been closest to him within the past couple weeks."

Jane felt dazed, her arms shaking.

"Foster?"

"Uhm," She said, looking down to the plates of food that once looked so appetizing. "Can I eat this? I also got this for Thor so… If not, that's… fine I guess. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning."

Fury didn't look amused – it would seem that eating wasn't the most important thing.

"Ten minutes. I can't risk this."

"I'm sorry… I can help you. Just…" She backed away, walking quickly back to Thor's room.

She pressed the button for the door and darted inside. Thor was awake and coming out of the shower when Jane arrived. She set the food down quickly, not having any intention of eating her own food. She was far too anxious to even consider food.

"Jane?" Thor asked, putting his leathery tunic thing on and walking to Jane, who probably looked like she was going to cry or pass out or all of the above.

"Thor, he killed someone last night. Apparently to get leverage to talk to me. So I have to go down there…"

"I refuse. We will not play this game of his," Thor said with finality, his hand tightly gripping Mjolnir. How did he get changed so fast?

"I'm not going to let more people die because I couldn't deal with Loki of all people."

Thor gripped her shoulder, stopping her from moving anywhere else.

"I will… speak to him first."

Apparently, when Thor meant to "speak to him" he meant to restrain him. When Jane arrived down at the very bottom of the ship, the first thing she noticed was Mjolnir on Loki's hand. He didn't seem to mind it, however, regardless of how it seemed to crush it – she couldn't imagine his hand to be any sort of exception to the fact that Mjolnir was incapable of being lifted by those who were not worthy. Loki was certainly not worthy.

For a long time, Jane didn't think he even noticed her entering the room, he was very still, almost like a statue. His black hair was hiding the rest of his face. It was then that she noticed he was bleeding. His nose was likely broken as it was off to one side, his face bruised and scarred. The likelihood that he managed to escape and kill one of his own guards was beginning to feel very slim but she was steadfast. Loki was a master of illusion.

This could all very much so be a trick. This could be another one of his many manipulations – Thor told her not to trust anything she saw or anything he said.

Still, he looked like a wounded animal.

She turned back to look at the two-way mirror – he still hadn't moved. It was freaking her out.

When she turned back around, he was looking right at her, standing right by the glass. She nearly screamed. Her hand rose immediately to cup her mouth to stop the whimper that escaped.

"Hello, Jane."

His body coiled upwards and his toothy smile nearly parting his face in half. The light from above left shadows on his pointed features and scars, leaving a most disturbing visage of her nightmares.

"Whatever is the matter?" He asked, his voice rebounding off the walls, making him appear even closer than he truly was.

She swallowed, attempting to find moisture in her drying throat.

"I didn't get to even eat breakfast," she deadpanned.

He chuckled at that, his head tilting to the side.

"Pity. I've had so many lovely visitors over the past couple of hours and yet no sign of you. I'm insulted."

"So, you killed a man to get my attention?" She asked, her voice shaking.

"He killed himself."

Jane's eyes narrowed, her stomach tying itself in knots but somehow she remained standing.

"Oh. I guess all you have to do is talk some bullshit and it'd lead anyone to stab themselves."

" _Now_ you're getting it."

She didn't expect him to play along. Her hands curled so tightly at her sides that she felt her nails dig into her skin.

"I didn't kill him," Loki said thickly, stalking to one side of the cell to another, his hands folding behind his back as he did so. It reminded her of a lion trapped in a zoo. She couldn't even hear the clicking of his boots.

"Okay," she said, though there was a certain amount of disbelief. She looked behind her to the double-sided mirror and Loki's eyes stared after her. "Someone erased whatever footage there was. I feel like you're lying."

"I did not ask for you to come here to discuss my guilt."

Jane continued to stare at him, her eyes narrowing. "Then why?" She pressed.

He raised his brows. "You should know better than to demand information from me so easily. We have only just begun speaking and you are already wanting to know the details of my plot?"

"Your plot for what? You've _lost_ , Loki! You cannot even admit your own failure. I see how you're sitting – you're wounded more than you're letting on. I'm not stupid. Thor's been beating you to a pulp."

"Oh, _Thor_ ," He hissed, glancing up to where she had stared before – the double-sided mirror as if he could see right through it. "How was it last night, hmm? Not the only time we have ever shared the lips of a woman." It was clear he was making remarks through the mirror to Thor who was likely watching.

Jane's stomach twisted.

"Shut up!" She growled, walking up to the glass. "You _assaulted_ me!"

"Assaulted?" Loki barked a laugh. "You hardly know the word, tiny little girl."

Jane's eyes widened, about to react to his words but she stopped herself. This conversation was useless. He was baiting her and Thor.

"Why am I here?" She pressed, feeling anxiety creeping in the pit of her stomach once more. She looked around the room. It was silent. Far too silent for anything.

Loki grinned. "You think I'd answer you?"

"Loki…" She trailed off. "What is this? Why am I here?"

"I thought you an intelligent woman," Loki said simply, laughing. His laugh rebounded off the walls. It drove her insane. No, there was something very _wrong_.

She suddenly felt very off. She started backing away from the cell, her heart beating in her ears so loudly she couldn't hear whatever it was Loki was saying to her.

She turned and ran to the door she entered through, to the small observing room located just above all of this. She opened it to find it completely empty. No one was there.

She turned back. The other Loki was gone. This was impossible. This wasn't right.

Fuck. _Fuck_.

She moved to the door leading to the staircase before she felt herself getting pulled backwards, a large hand clasping over her mouth. She squirmed, screaming and kicking in panic but the arms were like concrete, holding her against what felt like a much larger body.

" _Shh_ ," Someone hissed in her ear, holding her tightly – it almost hurt if she managed to move. She screamed against the hand. She tilted her head around in her struggles to see dark hair and pale skin.

Loki had escaped.


	11. Chapter 11

Loki has always identified himself as a master strategist. For centuries, Loki has sat on the right hand of Tyr, plotting strategies for battle, rostering the front lines to some of Asgard's most defiant and powerful wars. He has trained alongside the best warriors in Asgard and managed multiple times to save the best warriors, including his false brother, because of his own planning. He knew enemies. He studied them as he studied his magic. He could get into their minds and see exactly what the other side would be looking at. If there was anything that could remotely grant his likeness to the Aesir, it was his knack for planning battle. Though they may not realize it, the lives of a good majority of Asgard's most elite forces have been saved due to his careful plotting.

However, Loki also is knowledgeable of himself. He's lived with his own mind for centuries. He knows when he's wrong and where he's miscalculated. He is not perfect by any means, and he would be the first to admit that to himself, if not anyone else, especially when something falls by the wayside so severely as it has in the past couple of hours.

He has now been leveled twice by the giant green monster the Avengers affectionately call the "Hulk." He could count each broken rib within his body that was straining to heal itself, using every amount of energy he could muster. He could feel his nose realigning itself. Preservation is an immortal's first defense mechanism, and it was tiring him. His blood was rushing to fix the bruises that occurred all along his rib cage, legs, and face. He has suffered worse in battle, but being caught off guard was the most embarrassing.

 _His_ voice was heard in his head. Loki's constant internal struggle has become nearly secondary at this point.

 _It was_ her _fault…_

The mortals' poor excuse for torture was only a distraction he managed to block as he healed himself. He needed sleep – though it is not as necessary for him as it is for mortals, he had not slept in at least a month. It wasn't remotely healthy. The noise in his head wasn't exactly helping either.

She's _the reason you have not succeeded yet._

 _You're wrong. She's going to be the reason for my success. Just you wait._

His body strained to pull force the tendrils of magic that snuck through the cracks of what attempted to stifle it.

 _Foolish, sentimental, child…_

 _You know nothing of what it means to rule._

 _And neither do you, fallen Prince._

He shoved the voice out of his head. He needed to think. He needed to be present. No more miscalculations.

Where he lacked in magic, his mind made up for it, recalculating his next move as they pressed pointless question after pointless question, reiterated with jolts of electricity that hardly even bothered him. He knew the mortals thought by capturing him that they were winning. When in fact, they have only made their fates worse. The Chitauri grew restless. Thanos' grip on Loki's reigns tightened and he needed an out.

Perhaps he had been far too guarded.

Perhaps they needed to know their fate should he fail.

It took him several hours but he had managed to figure out the precise timing of when the guards would make their rounds to check on him. It was ridiculous – as if they could stop him should he make an attempt to escape. He sought to exercise such a strength to prove how dimwitted their security measures are.

He sought out the weakest link – the one who flitted away the moment he cast his gaze to him. He could tell who was most afraid and those would be easier to manipulate.

A couple well-placed threats and the guard was entering the chamber to give him food and Loki took the second's notice to multiply, ordering one of the guards to stop the cameras or he would snap the guard's neck. When they did, he killed him anyway, tossing him aside.

Too easy.

He took the mortals down within the small room that resided over his cell, each a dagger in their back. It was foolish of them to think he couldn't have seen them through the window of sorts.

When finished, he posed the guard who unleashed him up and cast a cloaking spell, making it appear as if he had never left his cell. It would be easy for him to fool them this way – if there was a physical body attached to the spell.

He cloaked the pile of bodies from the observation room, pushing over one so he could sit down and lean back in one of the chairs He'd wait for the show to begin.

He hadn't felt more alive in days – the chaos of it all made his blood pound in his ears.

All he needed to do now was wait for Jane Foster and they would be on their way. He was a patient man.

He knew she would come. Mortals would do anything to save another life, even those they did not know. It especially included Jane Foster. Intelligent woman she may be, but she would always be a mortal. She was charming like that.

Just as Jane was arguing with him, he was busy setting other things into motion. His soldiers had silently infiltrated the craft as he beckoned them to – it kept the Avengers and all of the others busy.

So, here they were. Loki had her restrained against him, preventing her from screaming or making a scene. He had let go of all illusions to brace himself for the coming fight.

This room was silent, save for Jane's labored breathing against his hand and the thud of the body who had just fallen over off of the bench, Mjolnir holding him in place. Thor would come soon enough to retrieve it – and possibly even him - and he would be right here waiting with his beloved.

"I am truly sorry, dear Jane," He said, weaving a spell to keep her hands behind her back so he might free up his hands to retrieve his daggers as they waited. He thought for a moment Jane would just cry and keep quiet, but no – she saw the small pile of the dead guards and began screaming. He rolled his eyes, stopping her voice before it deafened him. She made a choked noise and panicked – realizing she was mute once again.

"I know you had only the best of intentions, but it would seem I have you and all of your friends fooled. I do hope you had a lovely fuck with Thor but it is time to depart," he went on.

She gave him a black stare and he chuckled, cleaning his daggers.

"Was it really that awful you cannot say anything of it?" He asked, aghast, his hand rising to his throat in mock horror. "Was he that disappointing?" He pressed, moving forward to get closer to her hunched over form as she glared up at him. _Perhaps_ … "Or did it not happen at all?"

It was then that she stomped on his foot, mouthing a "fuck you" before leaning on the wall with her tied hands bracing her body.

"Don't tempt me with a good time."

He gave her a wink before turning his attention back to the situation at hand. He was hearing heavy footsteps approaching and Mjolnir hummed. Just what he wanted.

He gave her a grin as the door opened quickly, revealing an angered Thor. Loki could see the lightning in his eyes just before his vision went blurry as Thor punched Loki in the face, landing him against the wall.

Loki laughed, rubbing his face. "You're back. Just in time."

Mjolnir broke through the glass of the cage as nothing is able to stop it from returning to Thor's hand. Due to the intrusion, the door below the cage opened and sent the dead guard down through the air – it was clear this cage had not been built for him, but rather, for the green monster.

He had little time to think before Thor lifted Mjolnir, about to crush his chest before Loki rolled out of the way. A clone appeared behind Thor, wielding one of the daggers he had cleaned off earlier and plunged it through Thor's armor. He knew it wouldn't harm him deeply but it would leave him distracted long enough for Loki to make way with Jane into the aircraft that had arrived for them.

Jane rushed to Thor's side, looking as though she were about to cry, but Loki moved quickly, pulling Jane along with him. She rebelled, twisting in his grip, but he pulled her closer regardless. She hit his chest and he deflected her abuses easily such that he could maneuver them away and out of the bottom of the ship. She was not at all pleased, her choked squeals were not at all music to his ears, but he had to do what he must, he told himself repeatedly.

"Shush, Jane. Accept your fate," He said, shaking her shoulders to get her to calm herself. He couldn't transport them if she was squirming like so, and surely Thor would be after them in a couple seconds and it would be mere moments for him to be taken down once again.

He was growing wary – his magic was nearly depleted and he still hadn't left the ship with Jane in tow. He doubted his idea for a short moment – it would be easily to leave the struggling mortal behind but he would no longer have leverage he required to remain unharmed and untouched by SHIELD and their weapons.

"Hold still, Jane," He insisted, holding her close to him, restraining her arms after she seemed to calm during his reverie. With one of the last efforts of his reserves, he cast them up to the upper floors, where he knew he could meet the ship instead of magicking them onto it.

She nearly stumbled on top of him upon landing on the top deck.

He was met almost instantly with guns cocked at him and Jane who would be the only reason they were not shooting. Regardless of the fact that bullets wouldn't injure him, they'd injure Jane.

He calculated his next move – he was surrounded. They would not shoot as long as Jane was in his possession, and no one could bother him.

He then grinned. "Good evening, gentleman. I request audience with your leader, Fury. We have a couple of things to discuss and then I'll be on my way. Let Thor know if tries anything again his lady will die."

When they didn't move, he moved his hand to Jane's neck and tightened.

"Now!"

Jane struggled in Loki's resilient grip as his hand moved to her neck. She froze – feeling it tighten. It was that moment that her voice returned – perhaps Loki wanted her to cry for help? But she didn't. She bit back her cries, remaining brave in the face of death.

"Loki, stop this," Jane pleaded, feeling his fingers tighten around her neck. "Please."

He didn't seem to listen to her.

"Loki!" It was Thor. He had come up followed by Fury and Tony. Tears raced down her cheek as Loki's hand tightened around her neck.

Thor had Mjolnir ready to launch at his brother.

"Just do it, Thor. Stop Loki. He's not going to listen to—" She choked as her air was cut off suddenly. Her vision was swimming.

"I knew I'd regret allowing you to speak," Loki hissed, annoyed. "What will it be, Thor? Your Jane or my escape? Come now, I do not think she has much time."

Jane knew this would be how it would end – she was foolish to believe that this would be any different. That he wouldn't harm her. That this wasn't his ploy all along…

"Loki, don't do this," Jane could hear Thor pleading. "You're not this cruel."

"Am I not?" Loki hissed back.

"Alright, I think we're done here," Jane heard Tony's voice and then, a blast from behind before they were falling. Loki's grip released as the both of them tumbled forward. But Loki was too fast. She heard Thor crying out and she thought for a moment maybe she had been killed.

But there was no such luck.

She felt a hand grip her ankle and the world began to spin around them with a faint, familiar smell of ozone. The pushing and pulling was nauseating – she hadn't an idea of what was happening until she heard foul, screeching noises surrounding her that were inhuman.

She moved to hoist herself onto all fours, her body almost immediately expelling the little amount of food she's had the past couple of days onto the slick and cold ground beneath her.

She warily looked up, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Loki's grip was still on her ankle. She cried out and kicked his face to get him away. He winced at the sudden contact, but it clearly did him little harm. He moved to stand up, grabbing her forearm and shoving her in one motion to another side of whatever room they were in, casting her effectively out of the way.

"How could you do this?" She screamed, still feeling nauseous from whatever Loki did to get them onto this hellhole of a ship. The aliens all paid little attention to her as they were more focused on something else. Loki was weak, it seemed, though he was equally efficient in barking commands in another tongue that the Chitauri creatures were capable of understanding.

She seemed to be in the command room, with a giant, digitalized screen in place of a window. The engines bellowed beneath them, indicating something was about to happen.

They were facing the helicarrier. Jane's adrenaline caused her mind to go into overdrive – what could they possibly be doing?

She crawled her way toward where Loki stood, his arms crossed.

They had found the primary engine and were preparing to strike when Loki felt a small hand on his arm.

"No!" She screamed at him, crying hysterically. "Please, don't."

He paused for a moment as the rest of the Chitauri on the ship only turned to look at the women but ignored her, waiting for his instruction.

He smiled.

"Poor little Jane," He said, taking a strand of hair that was in her face and tucked it behind her ear. "When will you realize? You cannot save everyone. This is how war works…" He said, and then turned back to the Chitauri and nodded. Within one blow by several other ships, the primary engine stopped and the helicarrier was on a steady descent downwards.

Jane screamed.

When Loki couldn't stand to hear her screams any more, he turned to her, wrapped the hysterical, shaking girl into his arms who attempted to fight him tooth and nail. Her hand managed to work its way up to his face to claw at him, but he held her against him, wrapping her arms around her body so she would not hurt herself and whispered a spell of sedation that made her fall slack into his arms.

He picked her up and placed her somewhere comfortable, using his cape as her makeshift comfort and he fell next to her, instructing the Chitauri to take them to Europe – Paris, to be exact. It was the first European country, as history would repeat, to fall to his rule so thus he made a point to own property on it. It was a quaint castle of sorts – a historical chateau that charmed him.

He remained where he was, guarding Jane as the hours ticked by. The Chitauri knew who Jane was. They did not like her as their master has likely articulated to them. Their master, of course, not being Loki himself.

The Chitauri were Thanos' personal spies on Loki and it was becoming evident and frightening.

But Loki did what he must – he needed to win. He couldn't risk whatever lay on the other side of losing.

So, as long as Loki was conscious and awake, they would not lay a hand on her. It was a battle to stay awake, to be sure. He was exhausted. His body had been fighting to keep him agile and ready to fight for hours, after Thor had repeatedly barraged him with assaults after his body was just over the giant green monster that managed to level him in a way he had not been for months.

He was used to Thor's abuse by now, however. He was a predictable fighter. He knew what needed to happen and when in order to maintain his stasis.

Still, he had not slept in weeks. He was growing weary and weak. His body was struggling to heal itself and soon he would likely force himself into draining what little magic he had left to stay hale and whole. It was a miracle he could even get Jane onto this ship.

He leaned his head against the wall, trying to stay awake, every so often looking to Jane's restless form. Randomly, she would stir and start to wake and he would reapply the spell, much to his chagrin. He didn't need her panicking or yelling at him on a ship such as this. Not with the Chitauri passing them with death glares.

It wasn't a pleasant ride.

However, France was a beautiful country. It reminded him very much of Vanaheim in a way, with all of its luscious greenery and farms. They were a very proud people while still satisfied with living a simple life. They accepted their defeat, as they have numerous times throughout history, because they knew they would not be able to keep their culture if they had not. He quite liked that aspect about them. Now that he no longer would have to worry so much about the United States, he might as well enjoy his time elsewhere.

When they arrived, Loki gathered Jane into his arms, the small girl unconsciously resting her head against his chest. If she were awake, she would be incredibly dissatisfied. He didn't imagine the next couple of days being at all pleasant, but luckily he would be busy enough to keep away from a potentially very angry girl.

He settled her into one of the guest bedrooms. He had already had his servants of sorts pick out clothing for her – they would have gone here within a couple of weeks had he not been picked up by the Hulk. He didn't think things would escalate as quickly as they did, but he was grateful that he was a thorough planner.

He knew, in the back of his mind, that this wouldn't last. But he was also Loki – he was always effective in ignoring the unpleasant parts of truths to sate him in the present time. It was his best weakness.


	12. Chapter 12

Jane awoke by the light of the sun in her eyes. For a moment, she unconsciously believed that perhaps she was awaking to Thor's room again, to see him sitting at the edge of the bed like he had before, with the open window of the ship gleaming in. It all seemed like a faint dream now. It wasn't even twenty-four hours and she was already out of the safety that she had held so dear. Now, she had no clue where she was.

The first thing that she could even take in was the fact that she was most certainly nowhere near America. The room itself was grand – marble flooring, paintings that looked to be original pieces hanging up depicting different spring-like scenes, dark, regal colors highlighting deep reds and golds. There was a four poster bed with a canopy – things she saw in historical fiction television.

It was obvious she was back in Loki's keep, she thought as her stomach did backflips. He's obviously not into simplicity.

There was a great sense of relief when she noticed she was wearing the same clothing she wore when she woke up on the helicarrier.

There was a small gasp, causing Jane's attention to move to the doorway- giant mahogany doors lines with marble.

" _Mademoiselle_ ," A petite female who was no older than Jane was herself spoke from the other side of the room. She had unruly brown locks that stuck out of her pony tail. She was a tiny thing, though she looked to be in her middle to late twenties. Jane wondered where Loki found _this_ one. He could only be so lucky to hire another SHIELD agent…

No, this girl was speaking French. Jane had taken four years of French in high school… which also happened to be at least eight years ago by now.

She scurried away, shutting the door behind her.

Her heart sped up with each passing memory that seemed to pop into her recall.

Thor threatening to kill Loki, Tony blasting Loki down, only to enable Loki to escape. The alien ship…

Loki blasted the helicarrier out of the air.

 _"Please, no!" She screamed, pulling on Loki's leather coat, wishing she could just get through to him. It was far too late, however. The helicarrier was on a steady decent downwards._

 _She remembered Loki's arms wrapping around her as she screamed, causing an uproar among the ugly aliens that were all rejoicing with their guttural screeching, a couple of them took the time to turn toward her, mocking her horror._

 _She kicked and fought against Loki, though it was as though she were fighting against solid rock. She smacked him with her hands, clawed at his face but she might as well have been fighting with a cement statue._

 _No…_

 _He held her steady, an arm wrapping around her middle to restrain her arms to stop her from grabbing at him, and then his cold fingertips brushing against her forehead, whispering in another tongue into her ear._

 _Then… Unconsciousness…_

She felt tears dripping down her eyes unwarranted as she remembered what happened, why she ended up here. She wiped them away angrily, her knees drawing up to her chest.

Every time she felt like she had hit rock bottom, Loki seemed to have dug her farther down so she could find a new rock bottom to hit that was deeper than the last.

 _No. No, no, no, no, no…_ _her mind kept going. Were they all dead? Did they escape?_

 _This wasn't supposed to happen._

She sobbed into her arms until her head hurt and she felt dizzy from both dehydration and her sinuses being clogged.

She felt pitiful and weak, helpless…

She didn't even know where she was.

She tried to comfort herself. Erik wouldn't want her to be sobbing pitifully in a bed for hours. Darcy would tell her to woman up… She never felt so alone, thinking about the both of her companions who were now both lost to her.

They wouldn't want to see her completely unlike herself. Dr. Jane Foster would go and _do_ something about this instead of sit here and pity herself.

She was an astrophysicist, god dammit.

She heard the door creak open.

Her eyes darted up to see the dark-haired man staring at her, his arms behind his back, watching her and appraising her like she was a specimen and then she realized that her pep-talk was being said out loud. She flushed in embarrassment only to immediately spring up out of the bed.

She stomped toward him, damn the consequences.

His hands raised immediately in surrender.

"You tried to kill me," She said thickly, as if this should be any surprise. As if this wasn't in character. This was _Loki_.

"Miss Foster –"

"Get. Out!" She screamed, picking up a book on one of the desks and hurled it toward him, as if that could possibly injure him.

"I implore you to calm yourself," his voice was steady as he slowly walked toward, deflecting the oncoming book.

"Where are we? What have you done!?" Her voice cracked from lack of use. "You're a murderer!"

He stared at her, his expression an empty mask. When it was clear he had nothing to say and argue his case, he straightened his head and took her verbal and physical abuses like a statue. She threw another book petulantly and his only motion was to catch it with one hand.

"You killed them all…" She squeaked with finality, feeling panic-driven tears pricking her eyes.

He cleared his throat as her words echoed off the walls and lead into silence.

"My intelligences have led me to believe that the greater majority of them have survived, yet the helicarrier has fallen into the Atlantic Ocean. Fear not. The helicarrier has dealt enough evil amongst your world, regardless."

"What do you mean evil? You're the evil here, you sick fuck!"

He took a sharp intake of breath in through his nose. He was silent for another long while, as if trying to regain himself. She knew that expression well, whenever she tried his patience. He blinked a couple of times and his lips would twist down into an unsettled frown.

"Jane, it is apparent nothing I will say will cause you to calm down, so I will explain to you your situation and then I will leave you to your own devices," he said, his voice level, void of expression once more. "We are currently on the outskirts of Paris in a chateau I have acquired. I have a personal servant which you have met shortly, who will tend to you and ensure you're well taken care of while I am away. You are allowed to roam the grounds but no further. Understood, Miss Foster?"

"Am I just going to die here? With you and your insane ways? This has to end…"

His nostrils flared.

For a while, she was wondering if he had an answer to this question, and she didn't particularly want to hear it.

But no, instead - "If you exit your doors, turn left at the end of the hallway, there will be a breakfast parlor. There is ample food for you should you ever wish to eat. I will be heading to the city in a couple hours."

"I hate you," she said as he turned and swiftly exited the room.

O-O-O-O-O-O

Loki was informed that Jane had not left her room in nearly seventy-two hours. He had been off tending to business in multiple places at once, as trade negotiations were underway in eastern Europe and they were seemingly wrapping up soon.

Things seemed to move into a new normal in Europe, while the catastrophe was tended to in the United States. SHIELD was wiped out of the radar and he had been cleared to continue his treatises regarding his sovereignty.

"Monsieur," The maid hounded him down when he had finally settled in to rest for the night. She was a small, mousey thing, though she was particularly brave. Her family had worked on the chateau for decades before his reign and had agreed to serve him under certain conditions he was more than happy to oblige by, as it included preserving the historical artifacts of the chateau and continuing certain traditions. Small things that he would have wanted regardless.

Tired, though he was, he thought she wouldn't have bothered to approach him unless it was important.

"Mademoiselle," Loki breathed with a curt nod.

"It is about mademoiselle Foster. I fear she has not eaten since you left. I have offered her food, but she leaves it in her room, untouched, until it is stale. She has not moved from her bed..."

He frowned, knowing this was to be expected, but humans did not last very long when they malnourished themselves in such a way. He couldn't have Jane wasting away…

He nodded, running a hand through his hair. He was exhausted. He still had not managed to sleep, if but for an hour or two. Finally, he thought he might catch an entire night, though now he believed Jane was intentionally starving herself.

"Very well, I shall speak with her. I thank you," He replied, nodding her off.

He doubted anything would go differently this time around. He has done something Jane has deemed unforgiveable, and it was a just decision on her part. He had to do what must be done.

It is important that the few die for the sake of the majority. It was his work to decide such a thing.

He heaved in a deep breath before arriving at Jane's door once more. He knocked once.

"I said I did not want any more, thank you," She barked miserably from the other side.

He rolled his eyes, praying to the Norns for an eternal amount of patience before he opened the door slowly.

Jane was laying facing away on the bed, not leaving the position he found her in not but three days ago.

When the door opened, regardless of her wishes, she immediately sat up, ready to fight the intruder. Her fire was ever so inspiring.

"Jane," he beckoned, his voice low.

"Get out," she said evenly, though her voice lost the amount of power she had days ago.

"You have not been eating. Surely that is not healthy."

There wasn't even a pause before, "Why the hell should I? There is no point."

He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He sat onto the chair on the other side of the room, leaning his head against his arm. What was he to do? He would not force her to eat. He could, but he had no intention of resorting to _that_ just yet…

He was hardly a healer – his small education was spawned by Frigga's need to protect him on the battlefield. It was more self-preservation than to use for others.

"Please let me go," she pleaded pathetically.

Norns, she was relentless.

"Absolutely not," He said. Every word she said seemed to further drive out his energy.

He stared blankly into space as she paced about before ending up laying face-down on her bed like a petulant child being disciplined by a parent.

He didn't take pleasure in this. This was hardly the relationship he'd ever hope to have with anyone. Before his original plans, he thought he had begun to win her over. He could use her against Thor, show Midgard he wasn't a complete monster, use her as leverage. One day, use her knowledge for his benefit as he was hardly well-versed in Midgardian technology.

Now, the relationship had burned down to captor and prisoner. He knew what it was to be in her position, though he'd argue his experience was impeccably worse. He knew what it felt like to feel hopeless, used. So, he pitied her, if anything.

She wasn't an awful woman – she was intelligent and well-spoken. She was hardly an Aesir woman, but she had a lovely face and body. Should they have met in any other circumstances, should Thor not have already infiltrated her opinions of him and other means, perhaps they would have been friends.

"May I show you something, Jane?" He asked, his voice quiet and gentle, as if he spoke too loud and everything would crumble.

"No," She said almost instantly and he flinched, his eyes narrowing.

He wasn't about to back away just yet.

"Why ever not?"

"I would like for you to leave."

He ground his teeth together before taking another deep, calming breath.

"How about a deal, then?"

"I don't particularly like your deals."

"I promise you'd like this one," His voice dropped, gently prodding her out of this state she was in.

"I don't like your promises either."

She was impossible! He felt his hands beginning to reach for the scepter – this was it. This was the breaking point. He nearly groaned with impatience.

This was useless. Stupid! Tiresome. Odin's beard, he should have killed her a long time ago.

No, no… This was hardly him. He was never this impatient before the abyss. He was not _Thor_.

"Allow me to explain, then, and you can see whether you like it or not. If you don't like it, I promise I will stop bothering you. If you do, then… well, perhaps it could be our olive branch, hmm?" He kept his voice low and even – it was easy to convince others to do what you want them to do if you make them feel as if you were on their side.

There was silence on her end. It was a good sign – it meant she listened to him for at least a couple of seconds before she had concocted another stubborn retort.

She moved to stare at him, her eyes narrowing as she searched his face, looking for the lie, the deceit. The slightest possibility that his notions were less than honorable.

She breathed audibly through her nose before – "Fine."

He hasn't lost it. He grinned. She flinched away.

"I shall show you whatever it is you wish to see of Yggdrasil," He began shifting his weight on his heels, "Allow me this truce, small as it may be, and you may make one request of me. With exceptions, of course."

Her breath hitched, her eyes widening slightly. "Show me Yggdrasil?" She mouthed, her eyes dropping from his to her hands again as she sat further upright. "How?" She asked, frowning.

"Currently, I cannot leave Midgard. It would be disastrous. However, I can show you my memories of my own travels and concoct a sort of… _vision_ for you, perhaps."

She seemed to take it in, her eyes scanning the room from left to right, but he knew it was an inward sort of look. He knew she wouldn't accept unless she knew for certain what was to happen.

"How?" She pressed again.

"I believe humans call it telepathy, but Aesir and Vanir mages call it simply a 'mind exchange.' Through your allowing me into your mind, I can share with you my memories from traversing to other worlds and my experiences."

She seemed taken aback by this, seeming almost too cautious. "It's not the same thing as… as what you did to Erik?"

"That is an entirely different power. I cannot alone control people with the magic I possess innately. It is the mind gem that allows for me to wield such a feat," He explained simply. "I shall not do that to you…" He added on.

She furrowed her brow, seeming to weigh in her options until her eyes flickered up at him, another cautious thought making her narrow her eyes at him accusingly. "You think I should trust you? After what you did? You think this makes up for… for all of that?"

He frowned, knowing she had every right to refuse him, to turn him away and to be angry with him after what's happened. She didn't know what was at stake, however. She couldn't grasp the concept that what he was doing was for the better – she couldn't fathom him _not_ being the villain in this situation. He also doubted he'd be able to convince her otherwise. As Frigga often told to him, though he never truly took it to heart until now, "actions speak louder than words."

"No," He replied simply. "No, I do not think it would serve to make up for my actions against your people – it is war. Perhaps it will always be unforgiveable. You would be a fool to trust me and I would never expect an intelligent woman as yourself to do so. You know who I am. However, I believe… it would be suitable for the both of us to not be so miserable with each other."

She was silent again, contemplating his words for moments before she began shaking her head, laughing.

He was taken aback – why in the world was she laughing?

"If that's what you think… then no, that won't be necessary. Leave me alone. I can entertain myself. If you want to make it up to me, then let me _go_."

"That won't be happening, Jane. It is foolish to keep asking. You are wasting your breath and energy."

His hands curled at his sides – magic swirled at his fingertips, begging to be used.

"What am I to you? You expect me to cozy up to you so you can show me things you _know_ I've been dying to see, and not be suspicious? Are you trying to butter me up? I'm not an idiot."

He blinked. "What? Did you not listen to what I was saying to you?"

"Are you kidding me? I was listening! You just sent an entire aircraft _hurling_ to their death! You murdered like ten guards and piled their bodies up as if they meant _nothing_! You nearly choked me in front of Thor and used me as leverage to save your own hide like some sort of shield. Now, you're playing at caring enough to make it up to me? Is this supposed to help you sleep at night?"

His blood rushed to his ears. Her words bit through him more than he expected them to, but he'd never allow it to show.

"I _did_ what I _must_!" His voice reverberated off the walls. "You foolish mortals know nothing of what is outside of this atmosphere – what is brewing beneath the surface. You know _nothing_!"

"You're right! I don't know what is out there! But we sure as hell didn't need you destroying our planet and terrorizing everyone so you can fulfill some _fantasy_ of being Thor because you're _not_!" She spat and she huffed indignantly, her hands curling into little balls at the side of her as she seemed to gain the courage to continue, despite his darkening expression.

"You're some selfish, needy little boy who didn't get what he wanted so you took your daddy problems and thrust them on a defenseless planet!"

They both froze – she seemed startled that she said such a thing, and he was debating how quickly and efficiently he could kill her. A vase across the room knocked down – his magic was unrestrained. She jumped.

"You know _nothing_ of me," he spat, anger causing so much pressure in his chest he felt like he might explode at any moment.

"I know enough," she retorted. "Thor told me everything. He's a good man – he's defended you when you very well deserved to die. He loves you and all you ever do is shit all over him."

He immediately raised his hand in instant reaction to her spat. He raised it and then stopped himself immediately. He saw the sudden fear in her eyes. He saw her jump back. For once, he did not bask in such fear from another. He loathed it.

He hated her once more at that moment. Hated her for making him weak, sentimental. He could kill her for that. If he was any less of a man, he'd sooner snap her neck. But he couldn't.

He summoned a knife, then. The flash of silver enough for her to realize what he had and she whimpered, crawling back – her drive suddenly crushed by a threat.

"This is Asgardian steel," he murmured, his finger pressing along the edges of his precious weapon idly, looking over its engravings that included his runes. "It is one of the few metals that could injure an Aesir - or in my case, Jotun." He said thoughtfully before flipping it and catching it in one hand at its blade before offering her the hilt.

"You think I deserve to die, Miss Foster? Then do it," he pressed, extending his arm to her. She shrunk away from the weapon as if he was offering her the blade.

"Plunge it here," He pointed to his heart, "through my ribs. It would be easy. A few seconds, and you would be free from me. You would be hailed a hero by your people – you would surely save your world, as you believe. So do it."

She did not take the weapon, staring at it as if he held out a snake to her. She shook her head manically, her breathing heightened in such a way that she seemed to nearly be hyperventilating.

She said nothing, however, and he thought for a moment that maybe she would go through with it, using his own dagger against him.

"Come now, Jane," He drawled, "I deserve this."

She shook her head, her eyes averting as she crawled into herself, her knees rising to her chest as she wrapped her arms around them and sunk her head into her arms, shaking.

"Stop. Go away. Stop this." Her voice was muffled by her arms.

"Why the sudden affection for me, Jane?" He taunted. "Am I not a monster? Am I not deserving of death?"

"Stop! Stop, stop, stop…" She chanted, her head shaking.

He cast the knife away, his eyes narrowing as she seemed to be panicking, her shoulders shaking with sobs as she rocked back and forth.

"Curious," he noted idly. He dragged himself backwards before slumping into one of the chairs in her room, his head falling between his hands, the room falling silent as the blood pounding in his ears dulled into nothing. The only noise he could point to were her pitiful sobs as they echoed through the room.

He could not tell if she was sobbing because he scared her, or if she was sobbing because she could not bring herself to kill him. He wasn't sure which he preferred, which reaction he most sought for.

The worst part of it all was that he wasn't sure whether he would have cared that she killed him, either. It would be a sweet relief from this daily torture of controlling an uncontrollable people. It would be a reprieve from the tortures the monsters had concocted, knowing they would put them to use the moment he began to show weakness.

The moment he failed he would be hunted, if not killed. There was no happy ending to his story should this go anything outside of his plan – which was beginning to fizzle and become frayed at the ends.

To think that he could be killed by a small mortal would be almost a blessing. It would be mercy. But as fate would have it, the universe had no mercy for monsters like him.


	13. Chapter 13

_Loki was walking into his chambers after meeting with the Allfather after the ceremony to discuss if this was a true marriage as he had tricked Sigyn. She had agreed to marry him, however, to not annul the marriage as she had said her vows. For a long moment, he believed that perhaps this was working in his favor. That was, until he stepped into their room as he knew they had to consummate the marriage._

 _He just walked in quietly to see her crying to herself when she said she hated him, that she only agreed to this because it was the right thing to do and she could not break her vows hours after she made them. Any sort of delusion he walked himself into thinking she would fall in love with him all over again was instantly shattered._

 _"Where is Theoric?!" She demanded of him, her eyes wide and crazed._

 _"Gone," he replied shortly, already worn from their argument._

 _"Gone?" She breathed, her face falling as she disappeared into her dark locks._

 _"Yes, Sigyn. Gone. He died in battle," he murmured, looking up to her._

 _"You lie!" She accused, throwing various things at him - one of them being his own prized throwing knife he welded himself. He luckily caught it before it did any harm and placed it back where it came from in its case._

 _"I'm afraid not, Sigyn. If you wish to see the body... by all means. I merely..." he shook his head, "I merely wished to save you from the heartbreak... I knew..." he felt his threat constructing as he tried to utter the words he's loathed for years, "I knew you loved him... I would have never harmed him myself. When I learned he was dead, that you would be crushed... I thought, perhaps you might... might come to love me again..."_

 _She was crying. Not just crying, sobbing. He had never seen Sigyn cry. She was always so happy, so full of life and love for those around her. She always felt like the light in darkness. Now, it was obvious he had crushed her._

 _"Sigyn, please..." he begged her, falling to his knees in front of her, which seemed to be the perfect angle for her to slap him across the face. He jerked back. She was much stronger than she looked._

 _"You could have at least allowed me to mourn... and then, if you so wished it, to court me! Why would you do this? What became of you that you felt the need to trick me?" She cried._

 _"Sigyn, please forgive me. I only did this out of love... for you! Nothing else..." he pleaded, his voice cracking. Never had he felt so exposed, so ready to disappear and never come back. He had embarrassed himself with his emotions and now he was paying for it._

 _"You have a sick way of showing love," she said, her voice lowering, a knife appearing in her hand, lowering to his chest before –_

Loki sat up in his bed, his breath hitched at the nightmare – a memory that he had pushed to the far recesses of his brain that was now being picked out. He looked out – it was still nighttime. He had hardly slept but an hour.

Damn.

He groaned in frustration. It seemed The Other had a sense of humor – distracting him with his failed marriage.

Such memories were bait for him when he was bade to do Thanos' bidding. His hands curled into the furs on his bed. He did not remember Sigyn ever donning a knife. She was Vanir – a relatively peaceful race who, unlike the Aesir, would never train their ladies for battle unless they were talented mages.

He hardly remembered leaving Jane's room the night prior. He was so overly tired, so ready for some sort of peace, he nearly crawled back to his own room and slept only to be awake at such a cruel hour.

He figured he might as well work now that sleep was a far-fetched idea. He took to the map he had created of Midgard. He carried it with him from place to place, an ever-impending reminder that he was far from finished and this war was not ending any time soon.

Midgard was a large realm.

He remembered reading in his studies about how one of the attempted conquerors of Midgard, Adolf Hitler, attempted to march into battle into Russia in the dead of winter and into an unfamiliar territory to those who did not live there. It was his ultimate failure. It was the native people who knew their own land, and could battle in the coldest of winters as that was the climate they were used to. All of those years, all of those deaths, all of those resources… and yet, a winter and a lack of knowledge defeated his army in that battle.

The point was, Loki knew his weakness.

Such history was beginning to be almost relatable. He could spend years studying Midgard and its cultures, its lands and territories and how they approach one another with trade and diplomacy and all of the organizations they had already derived to keep harmony. He did not doubt that he could research and research and pull together armies that would strategically wipe out all in opposition. Such things required time and resources. It would take generations to ensure a stable reign, but it could happen.

All of these things, however, Loki did not have. He was set up to fail and to fail miserably. It was as if he had given Jane a wooden practice sword and asked her to fight an Aesir battle.

The people were getting angry. Trades have shut down and countries were becoming hungry. His armies were careless – they could burn down cities for no purpose other to burn them down. He did not know every country and what it had to offer. He had no way to create functionality. Loki could survive in chaos, yes, but functionality was what could lead a realm and Thanos' armies did little for him to such a regard. Even Odin has led his people through civil war numerous times. The worse of it all, he had no time.

The Other tortured his every waking moment with memories that warped into nightmares. He could not sleep. He could not eat. Food had no taste and wine had no warmth.

It was in this train of thought that he determined he'd apologize to Jane Foster. What more did he have to lose?

O-O-O-O

Jane had little to no sleep that night. Her dreams were filled with Loki – a face she'd really not care to see in her unconsciousness or consciousness. She wasn't sure if she's ever hated anyone so much. That douchebag smile he gave, the lack of remorse, the comments he makes about her and her race. _Ugh._

Not to mention she was back in his clutches as if her escape didn't even happen. It went right back into this dreadful pattern of dealing with Loki and dealing with herself and then dealing with utter _boredom_.

The maid brought in what seemed to be leftover dinner, what she initially rejected, now re-heated and served once more. She ate slowly, knowing if she shoveled it down her throat she might regurgitate it back up, and she just wasn't in the mood for that.

She took the extra time during her lack of sleep to exit her room for the first time to survey where, exactly she was. There weren't any servants roaming the halls, assuming that Loki had more than just "mademoiselle Martin" who spoke little to no English, making for a very less-than-adequate friend or even just someone to talk to.

The chateau was enchanting. It was fitting for Loki – a bit overly dramatic and decadent. It fit his grandiose tastes. The walls were hung with floor-to-ceiling artwork that would typically be found in art museums… and she wondered if this _was_ an art museum that Loki took over. Cruel conqueror though he was, he had his tastes.

A winding staircase led to a large hall – one that was fitting for parties or banquets, though it was empty now, serving no purpose other than to house such antiquated art. The floor was cold on her feet but she could hardly take notice of it.

She silently hoped that Loki would not be around to break such a peace. She set one foot in front of the other and almost floated her way down the moonlit, marble-floored hall whose end seemed to lead directly to the outside.

She sat on one of the stairs that led down to the garden, only imagining the nobility having many a party in this very garden, with tables, a string quartet, flowers… She wondered the history of this place and what led it to being Loki's abode, if only temporary.

She wondered how Loki even acquired these places. She knew that the SHIELD bunker he had originally taken her to had been commandeered by his own forces at the very beginning of this war, as told by himself to Fury. Then, the new apartment, that was now in utter wreckage due to the Hulk literally plucking Loki out of it and Tony destroying Jane's room to also collect her. She would bet Loki walked in and just demanded an apartment. Loki signing a lease seemed laughable…

Now, this chateau, on the other hand… She looked at the small fountain at the very center of the maze-like topiaries from afar. It looked like a miniature Versailles gardens. It was grander than anything Loki had ever put together. She wondered how this came to be. How Loki might have waltzed in and demanded his shelter there. But then again, judging by the fact that her maid's eyes weren't a terrifying shade of blue, he might not have taken this by force.

She knew there were people out there who even supported Loki's reign, those who truly bent the knee. Guessing by how quickly the French surrendered, being the first developed country in the EU to do so, she'd bet that there was a fair amount of nobility that encouraged Loki's growth. She would even suppose this chateau was a gift…

The thought made Jane's stomach lurch with discomfort. Loki was gaining ground. Though she understood that she did not know people's situations and choices, it was hard for her to fathom how people could just give in without a fight. Or even people who maybe agreed with Loki…

She knew little of what it meant to live outside of either SHIELD's or Loki's protection. Perhaps, if she wasn't so well-known by the Asgardian brothers, if she hadn't been doing research such as this for a good quarter of her life, perhaps then she'd realize _why_ …

Jane felt herself drift off from thinking critically about her world to simply naming the stars in the sky, her mind listing off names easily. She remembered sitting on the patio in New Mexico, naming stars, with Erik. Erik, who had always been there for her no matter what.

Erik…

She didn't even know where he was. She had no idea what Loki was making him go through. She felt lucky that she hadn't needed to see him under Loki's control with those eerie blue eyes. To see him work unknowingly for Loki's cause.

She didn't even really know how long he was under his control. She knew he had left to work on a secret project with SHIELD that she rejected, but surely he wasn't completely under Loki's control the moment she left, right? She perhaps spoke to him once on the phone and that was only a day or two into his departure.

Still, she couldn't shake that it was her theories that Erik took with him. Her equations that helped her predict anomalies and survey them. It was her tireless work that helped to cause those portals to open around the world.

At any other time, she would be proud of herself for inspiring such a thing. To have the first Earthen Bifrost… Instead of it being used to travel to worlds unknown, it was used for war and destruction. It killed her on the inside. Had she known she herself would be the reason aliens could reach her world for destruction… she would have never dabbled in it in the first place.

She couldn't cry anymore. There were no more tears left. No more self-pity. She only felt empty inside. There was no use in fighting this anymore – only use in what to do from here on out. Loki was stronger than anything imaginable. His armies were chaotic and disturbing…

There was nothing more for her to do but simply… be.

All that was left for her was self-preservation and that seemed to be working just fine. Loki had hardly touched her. It was a leap of a difference from when he'd readily slap her like she was a servant. He seems to just want to keep her here for added leverage, for some sort of pawn in his long game that he wouldn't admit to. Or maybe he hadn't an idea, either…

Regardless, if Loki wanted to kill her, he would have done it a hundred times over by now.

So, Jane supposed, she could literally live with that.

O-O-O-O-O

Loki was sitting at the breakfast table when Jane finally went inside. He sat there as if nothing had occurred, reading a newspaper of all things. What an odd man.

She had made a mistake in doing this. She had no inclination to speak to this man.

"Jane—" She heard the chair scratch against the floor and the door in front of her flew shut. She tried to pull it open but to no avail. She huffed and then whipped around to look at him.

"What," she said flatly.

"I do not think we left off last night on the best of terms."

"Do we ever? Can I go now?"

"Jane, I wanted to… talk."

"Uhm. No."

He audibly sighed, sitting back into his chair, casting the newspaper aside. He crossed his arms across his chest in the way that she could tell she was trying his patience again. He was getting good at not yelling at her every single time she seemed to press a button, but all of that went to shit last night.

"Jane," he said, his voice strained, as if it pained him to sit here and deal with her. She wasn't sure how this was supposed to be convincing her to say anything or to listen to what he had to say.

"Loki," she mocked.

He pressed his lips into a tight, thin line. His fingers audibly tapped the mahogany, his blue-green eyes hardly leaving her once. It took another long-suffering sigh before he finally spoke again.

"I wanted to apologize for my actions."

"That's big of you," she rebutted.

"Hm," he huffed, his eyes narrowing, but surprisingly he continued. "I realize I have caused you a great deal of distress and I wish for you to know that I do not enjoy causing you pain. I know I can do little to make it up to you. I do not expect you to accept my apology, but the offer still stands. I'd like to show you Yggdrasil if you'd allow me."

"You know this offer requires me to trust you to a certain degree, and I thought we've already been over that you know I don't and shouldn't. So why are you pressing this again?"

"You assume I have underlying motives?"

"Yes," She said. "You want me to like you. Otherwise, you wouldn't be sitting here trying to give false apologies and make it up to me."

He blinked several times, inhaling and exhaling once more.

"Otherwise, I would only be a monster to you who could not ever possibly wish to make amends with anyone. And it would be easier if I was just that, now wouldn't it be? You could have attempted to stab me last night and you didn't. Why?"

"I'm not a murderer," she said quietly, her eyes narrowing. "No matter how much I hate you, I'm not going to be the cause of your death."

"Oh, what an odd thing, though." He tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"How is that odd?" Jane asked, disbelievingly.

"There is no reason for you not to kill me outside of your moral compass, and even that, I think, varies."

"Why are we debating your death?"

He laughed heartily, throwing his head back. "You think a little stab wound would have done me in? I'm a _god,_ Jane, that's preposterous. No, it's the thought. If you had the power in your hands to do it, you wouldn't do it, though I can probably develop an entire endless list of people who would take their chances, but _you_ , Dr. Foster, would not. It's not because you like me."

"I'm glad you've noted that. I _don't_ like you," she growled.

"Not shocking in the least. You humans intrigue me. You have this strange morality that I am still trying to unfold."

She huffed through her nose. "Are you finished belittling my race you're trying to rule? Can I eat this breakfast in peace or are you just here to poke and prod?"

"Ah." He shook his head as if just being reminded of where they were. "Well, I seem to have stumbled upon free time, which is odd, so I thought I would offer my olive branch again, Jane.

"I thought we've already discussed that I—"

He held up a single finger, making her pause and she couldn't tell if it was by her own will or his. Nevertheless, her jaw snapped shut.

"Perhaps I made my distinction very unclear last night. I assure you my hope to intrigue you is nothing but genuine. Even if I am lying, you would be lying to yourself if you said you were not interested. Come now.

"Whatever happened to the mortal who would do anything for the sake of curiosity? For science? Do not tell me she is gone. I can see it in your eyes. As much as you wish for me to be gone, you also wish for me to give you information Thor could not and I am offering it up willingly."

Jane sputtered. He seemed to have her pinned down.

"Anywhere, anything you'd like to see is up here," he tapped his own head as he leaned forth, his eyes gleaming with something she couldn't describe.

It was a weakness and he seemed to have pinpointed it exactly.

She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms and he grinned, seeming pleased that she suddenly had a change in attitude. He shifted his weight.

What she'd do with the knowledge he had. With the things he's seen and done. He'd have hundreds of years of knowledge at her disposal and she knew he was intelligent.

She licked her lips feeling so tempted but knowing it was so wrong. He was so wrong. He was a bad, cruel man and she shouldn't trust him.

It didn't feel like it was she who nodded at the man's request.

He laughed in delight and sat back.

"I knew you'd come around."

She took a bite of her breakfast and stood up and he mirrored her.

"What do I do?" She asked, though it wasn't her voice.

He had her wrapped around his finger and he knew it.

He extended his hand and she took it. He guided her silently to a sitting area with a giant Persian rug in the center and an aged grand piano in the corner, though the room was almost entirely encompassed by windows, allowing the bright morning light to shine through, causing his pale complexion to feel even whiter, though the dark circles under his eyes seemed to disappear. His hair almost shone purple in the light.

He was almost pretty, she thought dumbly as her eyes scanned over him when he wasn't paying attention. He had perfect features just like Thor – strong, high cheekbones and skin that was flawless one could mistake it for porcelain.

He was skinny, she noted, and she also considered the fact that he rarely ate when she was around and he only seemed to eat with her. Without all his armor and metal, he was very… _small_ though he still had a very strong, lean-muscled stature like that of a swimmer or runner. She's seen footage of him fighting – he can carry his own. He took on Steve Rodgers like it was nothing.

It's a shame he was evil.

It's hardly fair how one who was so evil could be so lovely.

It wasn't right.

"We must sit so I can face you," he said, glancing to her which shocked her out of what must of looked like her awestruck. She didn't want to give him fodder for mockery.

He noticed her shock and smirked to himself before sitting down onto the divan, patting the cushion across from him and she sat uncomfortably.

She had never been this close to him of her own free will. His proximity made her nervous, feeling her heart pick up speed unwillingly.

It felt like she was jumping off a cliff. She didn't know what he'd do to her. There was no one to force Loki to keep his word that he wasn't going to harm her in some inexplicable way. She hoped that she wasn't being stupid considering she was acting like a moth drawn to bright light before it stung her.

"This won't… erm, hurt, would it?" She asked, frowning, as she shifted uncomfortable on the couch.

"No," He replied simply, with a casual shrug. "Think of it almost as though you are dreaming, or even hypnosis, had you ever experienced it. You must be completely and utterly relaxed for you to sense what I am trying to give to you. I will help you get there, do not worry," He murmured, his voice gentle and reassuring.

She was hesitant, looking over him. He _seemed_ genuine – like her intrigue stroked some part of him that wished to please others rather than just himself. But he was also the master of looking genuine, of course. He was the god of lies! Why shouldn't he be?

He seemed to catch the hesitation the moment it started.

"Jane," His voice was low and gentle and it seeped through her reverie. "Jane, I am not going to harm you. I have done this many times."

She eyed him but nodded nonetheless.

"Close your eyes," he murmured, his voice gentle and reassuring. She did as he asked.

"Now, I am going to touch you. Do not be alarmed. I mean only to relax as you cannot sense what I will give you unless you are more aware of your surroundings. Does that make sense?"

She gave a noise of approval.

"Feel your weight on the ground. Where your hands are. What my voice sounds like. Focus on the noise of your breathing and the feeling it is when it goes in and out of your nose…"

She found it was getting less and less difficult to do as he asked, her mind doing away with any panic or knee-jerk reactions she had in regards to his very presence.

Her breathing slowed and she tried to notice the things he asked of her.

The first time he touched her was on her shoulders. She felt his cool fingertips all the way through the fabric of her shirt. She inhaled, shocked by it and he stopped immediately.

"Think of releasing the tension in the muscles I point out to you," he murmured before resuming, his fingertips nudging her shoulder back, working her so she wasn't slouching forward. He raised her chin such that it fell back and taller up. He worked on her other shoulder, allowing it to fall back before his cold fingers went to prod onto her back, his fingertips trailing along her spine like one might prepare to play a cello. As his fingers passed, more of her muscles relaxed as if bending themselves to his will – or his magic, she wasn't quite sure - and she sat up taller.

"Very good, Jane," he commended. Jane stopped feeling pain she wasn't even aware that she had from years of slouching over a desk, typing away into computers and leaning over textbooks. It was an addicting feeling, being so relaxed and so at ease like this. She felt as though she would fall asleep at any moment.

"Now, I am going to need to touch your temple in order to relay the memory. You will find it easy to be receptive to it. What is it you've decided to see?"

"Vanaheim," She replied without any sort of hesitation.

"Very well," he replied, his voice soft and calming, regardless.

O-O-O-O-O-O

The fact that she was so receptive of his instructions was somewhat of a shock for Loki, though he supposed he shouldn't be so surprised. If his observations were correct, based on what he knows of Jane through her mentor and SHIELD, there was very little Jane wouldn't do to pursue knowledge. Unless he had managed to smother that fire within her, as well, he knew Jane would be receptive to what he offered.

He pushed back the fuzzy memories of his past to recall the first time he visited Vanaheim as a boy. The tall, thick trees that could block out the sunlight the further into the woods you go. The villages that were built into the trees so as to not waste resources. The waves on the beach as Vanaheim had two moons. The Vanir people with their tanned skin and darkened hair and kind eyes. Magic was everywhere and within everything.

They were then pulled into this world together. He could feel her excitement, her wonder as she bent down to touch the soft, but long grasses of the fields that only gently tickled at their calves. She ran over to one of the trees that were larger than she might have ever seen before and hugged it. The multi-colored flowers that adorned the place, she picked one up and smelled its perfume.

She was like a little girl in her joy – a smile he had never seen before. Some part of him warmed to that. It was the boy-like passion he had to entertain and to please that charmed him into what Jane was feeling and thus what he felt as well.

They walked along one of the trails that led to the small village he became familiar with as a boy. His mother had sent him here after the Allfather disallowed him from taking lessons on Asgard. Even when he was young, he was always feared.

Loki even foolishly believed that perhaps it was because he belonged here. If not for the way these people had magic so readily available and accepted than because they had dark hair and so did he.

He was a foolish lad.

He showed her the markets that had a variety of tea leaves, herbs, and spices all farmed by the Vanir. He pointed to things that functioned solely because of magic from the lights on the side of the street to the children's toys.

He showed her where the Vanir royalty lived, inside one of the grander trees that looked like Yggdrasil itself.

Jane looked back at him and grinned, though there were tears on her cheeks. He began to frown – why was she crying?

He looked up from her to notice another – a dark haired woman who's face has haunted the fabric of his being for hundreds of years now. She was cradling a book, sitting within one of the trees. The book was set down and she peered up, casting her dark hair aside and looked at Loki directly.

Sigyn.

He heard Jane call his name but he didn't hear it.

Jane must have moved, she must have restricted him or _something_ because the memory started dispersing around them and images showed up against his will. Sigyn shouldn't have been there – he hadn't known her quite yet but she was there. Something was very wrong.

It was one memory after the other and Jane saw them too, much to his disdain, but he knew should he pull away he could confuse the both of their memories, he could draw from her and scare her, so he tried to stop them to no avail.

It seemed seeing Sigyn in what appeared to be the flesh sparked a wave of memories of her that he had shoved down. But no, he had opened the box -

First, he saw Theoric as he knelt down in front of Sigyn as Loki stood by.

Then, it was Sigyn above him, holding the bowl as the venom of the snake dripped down from its fang, about to sting him again.

A cold, bloodless Sigyn as she lay on her bed.

The face of Odin as he tells him of his heritage.

Thor's face disappearing into the shroud of the abyss as Loki fell and fell _and fell_ …

He fights against the vision, yanking his hands off of her temples and inadvertently pushed her away in his efforts. She fell back onto her hands and they stared at each other for a good long while, her teary face contorted in shock at his sudden motion.

He felt as though he might pass out, suddenly feeling very lightheaded. He never wished for Jane to know any of this, to feel his emotions.

"Loki?" her small voice asked, her eyes flooded with tears as she looked at him.

He panicked. It was humiliating. All of it.

She reached out to grab him and he pulled away almost instantly, as if burnt. He moved and in one swift motion he began to get up from his seat.

"What was all of that?" She asked, trying to keep up with him. "Loki, please! Don't… don't leave! I want to know! I want to help! Please…"

He disappeared to another part of the chateau before she had time to ask anything else of him.


	14. Chapter 14

Few times in his life has Loki ever been caught off guard. In fact, in his recent span of life, he could count on one hand when someone has managed to stun him.

Jane Foster was quickly wrapping herself around one of his fingers and not letting go.

The day following, he went through quite a few phases.

First, it was outrage – outrage he let himself be dragged so low so quickly. Then, utter regret. Why did this need to happen in the first place? Why does he need to appeal to her? Why does he yearn for her approval, for her adoration? _Why?_

And last, but not least, bitterness. Ah, bitterness is Loki's closest friend. He knows it so intimately. He feels the tendrils of bitterness cling to him like a lover in her final moments before bliss.

And _he_ knows it, too.

 _He_ knows everything. It is _he_ who urges him on.

Jane Foster would never feel in such a way for him. She would never know what it meant to him for her to trust him in such a way, the feeling it was to share something so precious only to have his weakness shown and exploited in such _sentimental_ ways.

 _Bah._ Never again.

How easy it would be for him to simply end this all. One small spell and she would die without suffering – she would only be asleep and stay asleep. He would find Thor and force him to watch the memory over again and over again. He would stay around long enough to hear Thor's cries agony and in that _small_ moment of weakness he would end him.

Enough planning.

The door was locked but it's never stopped him before. He approached her bedside quietly.

He weaved the spell over her as she quietly slept. It gravitated around him. All he would need to do was say the words and her life would cease. No pain. She would hardly even be aware.

 _Finally_. Thor would know the pain of having something so near and dear torn away from him. He would defeat his last enemy that stood a chance against defeating him. Though it would be only a small percentage of the pain he has suffered at his hand – the mocking, the abuse. He would no longer live in the shadow of his false brother. He would burn his past into the ground and it would be Loki on the throne of Midgard – Loki who would be celebrated and adored.

Her lashes fluttered – she was dreaming. Her eyes were puffy from what must have been the tears from before. She was confused and sad and he could sense it. He felt what she did and vice versa. The anguish, the horror, the betrayal… All of it.

 _None of that._

Her lips formed his name. He froze in shock. She was dreaming of him. It couldn't be.

 _So close. Finish it._

She stirred. He paused again. Even in darkness, he knew her hair was the color of his favorite dark ale. Her lashes long and delicate.

She would make a companion he's loath to give up.

But she wouldn't want that. If only he could force her to _realize_ …

She turned onto her side, curling her legs into a small ball on her bed. She was so very small, so fragile. It was a very masculine urge within him to protect this being laying before him – though it's he she needs protecting from.

He would never again see those eyes light up – never see that smile on her lips, those same lips pursing when she was thinking or reading, or flushing when she was embarrassed, tipsy, or laughing even for those few moments they shared, they were _enough…_

She said his name again – she must be dreaming of him. But it was not a nightmare. She looked at peace, regardless of the fact her imminent death was looming over her. He knelt to her side – he couldn't help himself – and brushed a stray hair out of her face.

 _Damn her. Just do it. She will never feel for you. Do it._

It was becoming quite clear _that_ was never his voice. He lost grasp of the magic immediately and it dissipated around him.

 _Why her? Why are you doing this? Weak_ fool _!_

 _Because!_ He spat back at _him_. _Because_ she deserved much better than being some trophy that he could claim – a prize to be won. Nothing would come of this. _She's mine._

 _You will regret this day, Laufeyson_.

He knew that.

Loki disappeared as quickly as he appeared at Jane's bedside and locked the door to his chambers.

For the first time in a very long time, Loki wept.

O-O-O-O-O

Loki was avoiding Jane. Jane knew this.

She could hear him instructing maids outside the door. She could hear him arguing down the hallway with other men. It was just the moment that she would go to seek him out, there would be no trace of his existence. When she asked in broken French, the maids shrugged their shoulders and gave her a confused look as if, _who knows? Who cares?_ Indeed, why should she care?

There was some nagging sensation in the pits of her stomach that something was very wrong. She even dreamt of him, which was… odd, to say the least, but perhaps a side effect of the fact that he literally shared his own mind with her.

Then again, she should be grateful he didn't want to speak to her. It had been the first time in their forced companionship that he had made a point to avoid her and she should be basking in this break.

It would be a lot easier on her if she wasn't so invested on Loki's mood-of-the-day. This roller coaster was making her sick but it affected her almost as much as he was

Still…

It had been a whole forty-eight hours since he ran away from her in such a plight. She had panicked just as much as he. She felt the same anguish, the same terror, the same plight. She spent her night wallowing in it after he slammed the door in her face. He had unwittingly shared the dark recesses of his mind.

She couldn't help but think of why there was so much pain surrounding that brunette woman he showed her. Why everything seemed to boil down to her? Why she seemed to be the weakness that spawned the sudden panic in Loki…

Perhaps he loved her, she considered for but a moment until she realized that it's laughable to put "Loki" and "love" in the same sentence. How could he love?

She wished she could talk to Erik about it…

She shoved that thought out of her mind.

She tried to think of Vanaheim, instead. Its grandeur was most than she imagined it would be. The markets, the homes, the people… all of it was so familiar yet so very foreign.

She didn't believe in it, but she almost began to when she could feel the magic in the air there. It was intoxicating and she wondered if it was because she literally saw things through Loki's eyes or if that was how it is there. She might never know.

She spent the next day in the library, searching each shelf for the _Prose Edda_. She found one that happened to have an English translation and she giddily went to the table. She read through the tales that could be true and the tales that were most likely not – Loki giving birth to a horse with eight legs, or any of his children at all… She paused when she saw Sigyn, Loki's wife. She paused, remembering the vision of him being in pain, tied up, with that woman's face looming overhead with the snake – it must be Sigyn! Some of it must be true.

Jane delved even further into the subject – her head spinning with questions that corresponded with the memories that Loki shared with her. Did she die? Did Loki kill her? Did Loki even _love_ Sigyn? Were they really married?

She wanted answers and an explanation. He owed her that much, if anything. She saw it going two ways – Loki murdered his own wife, making him to be the monster she wanted to believe him to be, or Loki loved his wife and she passed on… making him a complete tragedy. If she was alive, wouldn't he have said something? Wouldn't he not have kissed her?

She wouldn't put it past him to be an adulterer to add to the list of his transgressions.

"Loki?" She called into the long hallway outside of her room. She knew his room was close to hers and if he was there he'd hear her.

Three days had gone by at this point. Surely, he wasn't going to ignore her forever.

She called his name as she walked down the long halls that she frequented on her daily strolls in the chateau grounds. The weather was becoming chilly, but it didn't stop her from needing to leave the house.

When she was sure she walked the entirety of the chateau, she ended in the gardens. The trees had already lost their leaves. It was there she saw him, sitting quietly, as though admiring the view. Her tension eased – he wasn't avoiding her, perhaps?

Or perhaps he didn't notice she was there.

"Hello, Jane."

Scratch that.

"Uh, hi."

"You were looking for me?"

"Uhm…" She felt embarrassed now. He obviously didn't want to talk to her so why should she want to? The wind tousled his already-messy black locks as he turned his head to the side, not looking at her, but not ignoring her, either.

He wasn't wearing his Asgardian get-up again – just his usual black suit and pants. Nothing was casual for him.

"Kinda."

He scooted further to the edge of the bench and patted his hand to the seat next to him. She supposed she was well-trained in sitting so close to him now, it almost seemed normal.

Now, he wasn't a strange being to her anymore – this mysterious dark, threatening presence in her life. He suddenly wasn't a complete villain and maybe that was what he wanted to show her.

She reluctantly walked to sit next to him, overlooking a vast courtyard with a cobblestone road leading into a roundabout – an intricate fountain dead in the center. It was right out of her AP European History textbook.

She noticed his presence was shockingly warm as she sat next to him – her leg was flush against his. They've never sat this close and at any other time she'd be nervous. She knew she _should_ be nervous. Such wasn't the case.

She peered over her shoulder to look at him. His face was set calmly – thoughtful, almost – though it was evident that he was tired. Bruises were formed under his eyes. Rarely did he look like he had a full night's rest. It was disconcerting.

"It's quite a season, autumn. Death is masked in a charade of beauty. I once believed Asgard had everything one would ever need in terms of beauty, but after surveying the splendor of multiple seasons on your realm among others, one could do without eternal summer."

"Eternal summer?" Jane echoed, a question in her words.

"Indeed. As it is a flat realm, there is no orbit around its sun, thus there is a constant season of warmth. Most Aesir would find this weather deplorable."

"And you don't?" She pressed.

He peered at her through the corners of his eyes.

"I am not Aesir."

The statement was carried off by another gust of wind that tousled Jane's hair into her face. She shoved it aside, unsure of what to say. It was obviously something that he wasn't about to speak to her about, much like everything else in his life.

"I suppose I should apologize again for the scene I've created."

Jane said nothing, willing him to continue with whatever it was he wished to tell her. It was like trying to capture a frightened bird – too much movement and it'll flee.

"It was… nothing I've ever experienced happen. A mere fluke."

"Hmm, the almighty Loki admits he makes mistakes," Jane chided.

He hummed. "A great king always admits to his faults," Loki recited as if by rote. "I would be daft to say I haven't made mistakes in my own time."

There was a silence between them. Jane didn't even know how to bring the topic up of his wife that was most likely dead. She didn't plan this far in advance. It wasn't a conversation she ever dreamt of having.

"You've been ignoring me," Jane surmised suddenly. She didn't want to seem needy, but she wasn't sure she could delve into a deep topic right off the bat – especially because Loki had no desire to speak of his past or much about his life in general.

"Grown bored already, dear Jane? Perhaps I _should_ find some tasks for you."

She blinked. She didn't really want to know what those tasks would entail, especially if it meant aiding him in any way. She's been in neutral territory for the most part and she'd rather it remains that way.

"I'll take that as a no," he said, smirking with his own self-indulging amusement.

She restrained herself from walking away in disgust. She knew to ignore his remarks and threats. They were always shallow and never realized. She feared the day he would make good on them, however.

"You know not how lucky you are, Jane. The plans I had for you were dismal indeed. Yet, I am so gracious as to forget them all and allow you to remain with me."

She bit her tongue and cringed. "You say that like I should be kissing your feet for your graciousness."

"You should be," He said, his voice hardening as he glanced at her once more. He was utterly sincere. "In fact, I'd say you are utterly ungrateful. The moment I do not entertain you, you claim I, who is ensuring your realm does not fall apart, should be paying attention to you."

He was taunting her. She stood up to face him, no longer wanting to be in such proximity to him.

"You're twisting my words. My realm is falling apart _because_ of you."

What happened next was a blur that Jane will never be sure she could remember. He made a noise akin to a growl, his long arm grabbed hers and pulled her close to him violently before his hand slapped on top of her head.

Suddenly, the world was, indeed, falling apart. The horizon of Paris was broken and outlined in flames instead of the setting sun. She could even smell the smoke in the air. Death.

Everything shifted once more, the air changed.

Another destroyed city – the only telltale sign that it ever existed was the National Monument that had fallen and shattered near her feet – DC by the looks of it.

It looked straight out of an apocalyptic movie, but it felt all _too real_.

The world shifted many times – through various cities and places, all of them torn asunder in flames and catastrophe.

Finally, there they stood, on top of Stark Tower – the only remaining building in New York City. There was a wormhole opened, similar to the one that originally brought the Chitauri. It remained open long enough for a man of incredible size to walk through it. His skin was a disgusting shade of purple. He looked among the destruction at his feet. The earth began to quake with his laugh.

"See, Jane?" Loki's voice was behind her on the deck of the tower. The wind whirred through them, it rushed through her ears but his distinctive voice cut through it. The smoke from the crumbling buildings filled her lungs, causing Jane to cough. She felt herself be stabilized by Loki's supporting arm, otherwise she thought she might fall off the tower.

"Who is that? What is going on?" Jane cried between her fits.

"I've seen all of the possibilities, Jane. If I had not come, if I did not shield the tesseract and act as an authority for your world…" He gestured to the destruction below them. "I fear there would no longer be a Midgard to speak of."

"What is that… that thing?"

" _Thanos_ …" Loki's voice was like a hiss of a snake as the vision spat her back out into the reality. Loki's hand released her and his other still gripped her arm with a death grip. She squirmed in his grip before he finally let her go.

"Who was that?" She asked, her eyes wide and panicked. Jane paced around, trying to tear those awful visions and Loki's invasion out of her head.

"The Mad Titan," Loki's voice muttered, "Courter of Death. Destroyer of worlds. It is he I keep at bay – who I must satisfy."

"Who you must satisfy?" Jane parroted.

Loki nodded once.

"You answer... to that _thing_?" Jane pointed as if they were still standing on Stark tower. She ran her fingers through her hair at Loki's silence. She paced back and forth. "No fucking wonder you look like you haven't slept in a week."

"I made a deal with him."

Jane stared at him in utter disbelief. " _What_?"

Loki held his hand up as if signaling her to stall her incredulity. "His allies are… convincing. I had very little choice. He's quite angry with me. I believe I… am not acting in accordance with what he wanted."

"Go on," Jane pressed.

"To be fair, I did not quite… foresee me _not_ acting in accordance."

"What was this deal?"

Loki smirked at Jane. Chills ran down her spine at it.

"It was simple. I find the tesseract and hand it over to him, and in return I could rule this world as its king with his armies."

Jane's heart dropped. "That's why you told me that they can't have the tesseract. You… didn't give it to him. Why?"

"I found his motives were much less appealing. This realm will be destroyed the moment he gets ahold of the tesseract. All my work would be for naught. I cannot rule a world of ash."

"What the fuck!" Jane said, feeling like she might puke or pass out or go into another panic attack. "So, you're withholding that from him! No shit he's pissed."

"I believed I could hold him off, as long as I ruled in the way he desired. It was going quite swimmingly, Jane. You watched as I conquered. While you were in my care, I managed to conquer Russia and the rest of Europe with carefully placed treaties. I believed I had all of it. Everything I've ever desired was right before me. And then it all changed."

"What changed?"

Loki was silent and he stared at her. The words he wasn't going to say were evident in the way his lips parted, his eyes glossed, and his hand grabbed hers, clinging to it as though she was going to pull him up from the waters that were going to drown him.

He rose to stand before her, his hand extended to take her waist and pull her closer while the other reached under her chin to pull her eyes into his. For a moment, she wondered if he was going to kiss her again. His eyes searched hers. She felt like she was held down by the weight of them – an insect waiting to be dissected.

The answer was there, hidden in those emerald eyes of his. The words were silent.

The connection between them was instantly severed as his hand fell from her chin. He turned away, his eyes downcast and almost, dare she say it, sad.

Something in her heart tore off. It made her chest ache and suddenly it was hard to breathe and she wondered just how much of a connection she still shared with Loki.

Surely, she wasn't feeling pity.

"Thank you," Jane murmured.

He paused in his movement of leaving her. "For?"

"For telling me things."

He didn't say anything and the silence stretched on as the sun disappeared behind the trees.

"I think it important you are aware. I fear…" He drifted off, his throat clenching. "I fear he has set his sights to you. He believes you a distraction."

Jane tried to take in the meaning of his words. "Thanos set his sights on _me_?" She asked, frowning. "I'm just here because you forced me to be here. How is any of this my fault?"

"It is not," He pressed quickly, his eyes turning utterly grave, the shadows along his features darkening. "He knows of my initial intentions with you, as I have described, and he is unsatisfied that I did not carry them out."

Jane swallowed.

Some part of Loki seemed to care enough for her to spare her life when he obviously didn't have to. He could have killed her and he hasn't. She didn't know what to do with this information.

"You will… you will be safe, Jane. I will do whatever I must to keep you out of his grasp. This I swear to you." His voice trailed off, though Jane could pick up on the small traces of sadness that escaped.

"What's going to happen, then? What are we going to do?" She asked.

When he didn't answer she turned to look at him and he was looking at his hands, his shoulders slightly hunched over, his hair dangling in his face to hide whatever expression he seemed to have.

"Loki?" She asked, reaching out to touch him, though she wasn't sure why. She felt as though she must comfort him as one should comfort another being in distress regardless of who they are or what they've done but also because…

Well, because…

Loki wasn't the bloodthirsty villain she wanted him to be. He was a villain, but he was sad and lost and in an extremely bad position.

He leaned into her hand just enough to tell that he needed the comfort.

"I'm sorry, Jane," He murmured, his voice lowering.

"What for?" She asked, her voice shockingly gentle.

"What I must do."

In the corner of her eye, she saw a faint glow form in his hand and the scepter he had carried around appeared in his hand.

This was an act. This was a game…

Fuck, fuck, fuck.

It all came together – why he was acting so strangely, why he had revealed all this to her. He wanted her on his side and he was going to force her to be. She was so stupid… she should have run. She shouldn't of came here.

She darted up from her seat, her steps blindly going backwards, though still facing him, her hands raising to fight him off though she knew she couldn't take him on.

"No," She whispered disbelievingly. "You… you said you wouldn't!" She cried out.

"Circumstances change. This is the only way-"

"No! This isn't the only way. If you explained this to people, surely… surely at least the Avengers might listen!" She shook her head as he rose from his seat as well.

His height and strength outmatched her. He ignored her pleas as he slowly pursued her, each step slow and measured like a lion might approach its prey.

She knew she wouldn't go down without a fight. She turned and began sprinting as fast as her feet might take her. She heard him call out after her, but she didn't stop.

She kept running and running down the long driveway. She couldn't tell how close he was behind her. She felt like her chest was going to explode. She was hardly in shape but she couldn't just stop… she couldn't just give in.

The moment she turned to see if he was following her, she all but ran head-first into what felt like a tree.

Loki leered down at her. It was silly to believe she could run. Not when he can basically teleport anywhere…

He grabbed her arm and shoved her into a tree. He made quick work of lowering the staff down to the level of her chest.

"Please," She whimpered pathetically.

"I am sorry, Jane," He repeated.

It was then everything went black.


	15. Chapter 15

To be quite fair, he could say he planned this all along.

This was one of his ideas for Jane the moment she was in his keep – to help her mentor and he would have the greatest Midgardian minds helping his success after he managed to spite Thor in one way or another.

It was just more… roundabout, he supposed. A scenic route.

He didn't expect Jane to cow him to his room where he would then indulge himself in three bottles of French red wine, at last allowing him to find some semblance of rest.

In the day, he would disappear to several countries. Sometimes all at once. He busied himself with his task he set for himself. He met with council after council.

He knew he had to figure out what he must do with Jane. He could not carry on in such a way and threaten everything he has worked so tirelessly for. He would not put his life at risk for such… such a _silly_ mortal. For that's all she was, he assured himself. She was a mortal who could care less for his sake.

He owed her nothing – no explanation, no kindness, and especially not the rights to her mind. He's been quite fine on his own the past four hundred years.

That was when he was resolute in his decision. He would carry on as planned. It was best this way - he would protect her from both himself and the dangers that would arise should he delve any more into this useless sentiment.

The only downfall would be he would earn her hatred. It would be well-placed, no doubt. That is, if she ever managed to come out of his control. She already hated him, he reminded himself. Nothing would change.

Loki lowered the staff from Jane's chest. He watched as her brown eyes went to black and then to blue. Her horrified expression turned neutral within the span of a couple seconds. No more argument, no more explanation. All he had was her mind – her soul trapped within its vast expanses, buried deep. He would only see it once he prodded, he supposed.

He had imagined this before – taking her mind in such a way, having her be agreeable to him whether she liked it or not. He imagined parading her before Thor, showing him that she was now his regardless. It was one of his original schemes upon abducting her. He wondered what it might feel like to take the woman that Thor loves and wield her into his own weapon.

Whatever he had intended for himself to feel such time ago was absent when he looked in to those dead, blue eyes.

He wanted her out of his sight.

He asked her to leave.

She wordlessly nodded, turned, and walked back toward the chateau.

He had to do this, he reminded himself. This was for her own good as well as his. He knew she would never feel anything for him, and should she ever leave this state of mind, she never will. Not now.

It should make him feel at peace. He should be pleased with this work. He will not have any more distractions and he gained one more mind to wield and work for him. One more set of eyes to oversee his plans.

He had to force himself to feel fine. He's done it before – countless times, really. When every woman who once shared his bed now had a quick pass into Thor's. Every time he was pushed to the ground, spat on by the Asgardian people. Every time, in every situation, where Thor would be chosen over him. He's made himself feel fine. Hundreds of years of suppressing his rage and hate. He can do it again.

He began walking away. It only took two steps before he turned back around, picked up the damned tree he had forced Jane against, and threw it until it disappeared over other trees. He huffed until his breathing caught up with his racing heart.

Now, he was satiated.

He walked back toward the chateau slowly enough that he would not have to encounter Jane for the rest of the day.

The night was long and restless.

He was once more very, very alone.

He would leave Paris soon.

O-O-O

The following day he instructed for Jane to be brought where Dr. Selvig was. He no longer would have to live with her. She would have a room in the bunker he had commandeered months prior in the initial invasion of Europe. He had been keeping the tesseract in one of the old artillery storages from the second Midgardian war. It was nearly one hundred feet underground and undetectable – a perfect hiding place should Thanos come looking. He had placed a shielding spell over the entirety of the land. Anyone who would come looking would become very lost and confused.

He wrote out instructions for what he wanted accomplished to Jane, giving her his staff that included the mind gem. He wished to reach more people with it – crowds, perhaps. It would quickly stifle rebellion using less resources and give him full reign over territories that were troublesome. He would finish the war in a fortnight should Jane be successful.

He wasn't going to sleep until it was finished, that was.

O-O-O

A day later, one of his agents had approached him, reporting that Jane was troubled and sought his guidance.

He knew he would have to speak with the girl eventually, but he wasn't entirely sure how soon it would have to be.

He found a cask of mead. It was not similar to the Asgardian mead, but in bulk, it would do. He downed a good portion of it before he reported to Jane Foster.

He found her hunched over one of the computers, her hand effortlessly scrawling notes on a pad of paper.

"Jane?" He beckoned. She turned in her chair. Blue eyes met green. He opened his mouth and then shut it into a thin line.

"Sir."

"You can call me Loki," he corrected.

She shrugged. He said nothing more, awaiting her question.

"I thought I should inform you that engineering is not entirely my specialty."

"Physics is, no?"

"Well, yes. But Stark is the best one to consult, I believe."

He frowned. "You cannot do this?"

"I can," Jane assured.

"Have you not engaged with the tesseract yet? Surely Dr. Selvig has shown you."

"I have. Some questions have been answered. But many are not."

"Then what is your qualm, Miss Foster?"

She pressed her lips into a thin line before replying. He thought for a moment, her lip might curl as it did when she thought of a retort. Perhaps her brow might furrow in concern. None of that happened. She stared blankly at him before finally responding, "I think I need a partner. Just so we can meet your deadline."

He sighed. "Very well."

"Perhaps one more trained in machinery?"

"Yes. Whatever you wish."

"Okay. Thank you."

She gave a curt nod before turning back to her work.

He turned and left. Perhaps it was the alcohol, but he felt nothing.

O-O-O

Days turned into weeks.

His grip on Midgard had grown exponentially. He would only assume that it would get better.

Loki ensured that Jane would have a partner – he set Dr. Selvig on the task with her. Surely that would please her. He ignored the fact that she wouldn't feel pleased either way – or much of anything. He ignored the fact she felt nothing at all. It was better to ignore things like that.

He must be going insane.

O-O-O

"Jane?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love Thor?"

"I don't see how quantum mechanics has anything to do with that."

"Answer my question."

"No. I do not believe I love him. Not yet, at least. I hardly know him."

Loki didn't sleep that night.

O-O-O

"Sir?"

"You can call me, Loki, Jane," Loki urged, massaging his temples. He only reminded her of this every day he saw her - which only was once a week, at this point. He had many other matters to attend to, including the final surrender of the former United States and Russia. Jane was becoming quite an inconsequential worry of his and it was best this way.

She ignored him this time. He frowned.

"I believe it is nearly finished. Just some test procedures is all we need to run. Give me another two days."

"Very good, Jane."

"Thank you, sir."

O-O-O

"Kiss me, Jane," Loki implored, alcohol draining his senses. Somewhere he knew that Jane couldn't say no even if she wanted to but he ignored that. These past few weeks had been lonely… he'd been desperate.

She acquiesced. Feeling her soft lips press against his made him feel triumphant, wanted, even appreciated, though it was because of the alcohol that he could ignore the fact that there was no emotion behind her movements.

He wound his hand through her hair, feeling its soft texture. How he longed for her. To have her yield before him. He wished for her body, for her mind, for her life. He wanted her with him as he ruled. He wanted her more than he's ever longed for a woman in recent history.

He could take her, he considered. She wouldn't say no. But she wouldn't say yes, either…

It was when he was pulling her shirt off her body, leaving her exposed to him that he stopped himself.

No.

Jane would never forgive him.

He was more than just this lustful monster, desperately seeking company in any form he could have it.

If he was ever to win over Jane, it would have been before he stole her mind.

His chance was long gone now.

"I'm sorry," he muttered brokenly. He wasn't sure if Jane would remember this should she ever have her consciousness back. It didn't matter – if that were to happen he would be either dead or locked away.

He gave Jane back her shirt, tearing his eyes away from her exposed chest before getting up and walked silently out of the lab.

O-O-O

The Chitauri were growing restless as peace was being kept. They would scowl at him whenever he instructed their leaders. If not for the occasional rebellion, he would feel as though he would have no need for the army of disgusting creatures.

He contemplated what it would mean should he withdraw them from the countries that were most settled into his leadership. It would draw back on the level of intimidation he wished to convey.

The Chitauri continued to defy him – tiresome as it was – he became wary. Was getting rid of Jane's consciousness not enough? Everything he did – was it for naught?

His panic caused him to make rash decisions.

He forced the hand of more rulers into treaties by threatening to cut off trade with them. The fact he was still dealing with this made him sick to his stomach. Thanos was growing impatient.

The day Jane promised would be when his staff would be finished never came. Two days passed. Then a week. And then two.

Thanos summoned Loki and Loki had no choice but to accept. To defy would mean the end of Midgard.

"You are failing, little King."

Loki swallowed hard, staring defiantly up into the Titan's eyes. His hands balled into fists behind his back, his magic held at the ready around him to defend himself against whatever tortures might ensue.

"Only because your meager forces have no care for reason."

"Meager? It is you, runt, who is meager. I have been notified that you have hidden the tesseract from me," The titan explained as though he were sitting with a child.

This was the end. He knew it. He had run himself short time and time again. He was running on borrowed time.

"Was our deal not clear for you? Perhaps I should remind you who it is that you serve."

Pain radiated throughout his body. Agonizing, burning heat that countered who he was. He cried aloud, his tortured screams echoing throughout the caverns of the disgusting asteroid.

It felt as though it lasted for years. He was going to die, he was sure of it.

Wave after wave of blistering heat that had him crumbling onto the harsh rocky ground, sweat pouring from his temple.

A thick hand immediately wound itself around his neck, nearly choking the life out of him.

"Bring me the tesseract, runt. Or your kingdom will fall."

Loki winced as he was brought back to his chambers within a second, his crumpled body laying on the floor. His breathing was unsteady.

Loki was quickly running out of options.

O-O-O

Thor could not remember a time in which days blended together in such a way. Every day was quite the same, or nearly so. He would wake to darkness – he was underground, after all. He would attend meals but rarely would he eat – he need not the nourishment mortals seemed to. He would then speak to Tony Stark and other leaders who have been leading the rebellions that were lead based on damaged Chitauri weapons.

They seemed to be rather successful until Loki managed to predict where and when they would begin.

Death hung in the air of Midgard. It was suffocating – a daily reminder that they were unsuccessful, that Loki truly had lost his mind.

He stared out into the vast expanses of the desert they resided in. It was like the one he found himself when he was banished. It made him yearn for a simpler time when his heart was not so full of rage and disgust. When he found Jane.

 _Jane_.

Her name brought him unspeakable pain and regret. He could not save her. Not with the lives of thousands on the line. Surely, she would forgive him. Perhaps not instantly, but one day.

His heart had never ached so. He lost his love. He also lost his brother.

It was as though Loki had died as he was no longer the man Thor knew. The jovial, intelligent and witty brother he once knew was dead. It had perhaps taken him too long to accept this. He tries to forgive himself – he has been Loki's brother for over a thousand years. It would have done such a relationship little justice had Thor accepted this newfound truth in the span of a couple of days.

Thor felt as though he needed to properly grieve, but at the same time it was a difficult task. He still saw his brother's face in the newspapers and televisions. That sadistic grin that he wore so wolfishly. He made a point in watching – knowing it was exactly what Loki wanted considering he still had Jane. But he had to know – though he was hundreds of miles away.

However, he found it strange that Jane no longer appeared in such media.

He made a point of investigation. He asked the agents to search for her. Jane was nowhere to be found.

He could no longer stand by idly and allow this to continue.

He knew it was time to pay Loki a visit. The mortals were more skilled in weapon-making. There would be more of a chance to take down Loki. He had to save Jane… should Jane be alive or not.

O-O-O

The Chitauri had long stopped obeying Loki.

The news came to him not but a couple of days after his torture… He had been hiding, mostly. The world he had attempted to rule was in shambles. Riots became stifled by the threat of massacre. The chaos he had once enjoyed was now a threat to his very existence.

There was one part of his mind that believed that perhaps he needed to find Thor… As much as he despised such a decision… It wounded him, really, even thinking it. It wounded him even more to consider the fact that he was far, far over his head. The other part of him considered just taking the tesseract.

Yes… with the power of the tesseract, he would no longer cower in fear of Thanos. He would take Jane and flee from this pathetic world and let it die. He was not a king. Not in the way that he believed he could be.

He knew Jane would despise him for it, but surely, after given an apple of Idunn, she would eventually… get over it?

That was utterly ridiculous. He was mad.

"Sir," An approaching guard awakened him from his reverie as he sat overlooking the city.

He stiffened, nearly choking on his wine. Wine that he had been quite fond of as it helped alleviate his anxieties.

Loki turned to look at the mortal – his blue eyes stern and serious. He swallowed the last bit of his wine before rising to meet him.

"Yes?" He asked.

"I have urgent news."

Loki rolled his eyes impatiently and crossed his arms. "Go on."

"I have just received word that Chitauri have been holding the base hostage. It would seem they are waiting for you to give them the tesseract."

 _Jane_.

Before he even began to conjure his magic to transport himself to the base, the wind was knocked out of him by a nearly unseen force.

It was Mjolnir.

After coming back to his senses with the weight over his chest, he chuckled.

"Thor," he grunted, his lungs only managing the bare minimum as the immoveable weight bore down on his wind pipes. "Impeccable timing."

"Where is Jane?" He demanded,

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Mjolnir seemed to get heavier as Thor took it into his hand and pressed down even further, crushing Loki's ribs. Wrong answer.

"I could kill you right now, Loki."

He squirmed, trying to find air. He looked up to see Thor's eyes full of lightning, ready to end Loki's life should he say one more wrong word. Surely not… Surely Thor wouldn't truly go through with it. Just this one time, might he listen… Oh, Norns…

"You have led this realm to ruin. You have failed, Loki. Jane is nowhere to be found, either. You will fix this mess or I _will_ kill you."

He choked, feeling blood run up to his throat.

"I… yield…" he choked. " _Please_ …"

"Will you withdraw your forces?"

"Yes… yes! I yield! Thor…"

Suddenly, Mjolnir withdrew its weight. Loki choked, feeling the air rush back into his body once more. He coughed a chuckle. This was comical, he thought. Thor could have done this at any time, but it was when his lady love was nowhere to be found that he finally gave in… His chuckle became bitter as his eyes fluttered open. Thor was alone, surprisingly enough. It wasn't a good sign.

"Where… are your… Avengers? Hmm?"

Thor didn't answer, however, his hand folded into a tight fist, ready to use it whenever he felt the need.

"Where is Jane?"

"I was just…" _cough_ "about…" _cough "_ to… fetch her."

Another blow to his head nearly knocked him out, his world went black for only a little while before he regained his vision.

"Thor… cease…"

"Where is she?!" He demanded, his voice pained.

"Allow me… to explain…"

"I will hear no more of your prattle!"

"We need… to go… If you wish to save her, you must listen…"

"Go where? I asked you where Jane was!"

He sat up slowly, dusting himself off. Though his face was most likely bloodied and he was battered, he would not go down looking so pitiful.

"I will bring you to her… but you must… allow me to explain," he said, trying his best to heal the bruises on his chest, putting his ribs back together as he spoke. It would be a hurried mess, but it would have to suffice. He couldn't risk his own ribs puncturing his lung as he fought for Jane.

"You have thirty seconds."

Loki's fist tightened at his side.

"She is being held hostage. The Chitauri no longer listen to my orders. They stopped a week prior… They know I have been withholding the tesseract from them and Jane… Jane has been working with Selvig… They are both in utter danger…." He stopped, his brow furrowing in concern. He was unsure how many of them there would be – not that he doubted his false brother's strength, he doubted his own. "Where is your meager team?"

"They are spread out… fighting… I came after I was told Jane was missing…"

Loki shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "You must allow me to heal…"

"Just so you can disappear again? I think not!"

"Thor… I am true to my word… I swear to you. Please, if you wish to save Jane, you must allow me to heal. You cannot take them alone. And you cannot allow me to die. I have information that is vital to fixing this… Please…"

Thor paused, his hand tightening around Mjolnir, as he regarded Loki.

"How can I trust you?"

"You cannot," Loki said, shaking his head, a small smirk rising over his lips. He knew he was in a position that most benefitted him, regardless of the ending situation. "But I am the only choice you have."


End file.
